Remind Me How to Sing
by Bluehag
Summary: What do you do when your best friend is a lier a theif and a vagrant? Date them of course. *Finished*
1. The New Kid

A velvety black sky held the world in it's silent palm, stilling it until daybreak. The stars gave no light and even their reflections were swallowed up by the black frigid depths of the East River. The stark outline of the Brooklyn Bridge stood out in the night. It's jagged angles were a sharp contrast to the softness of the breeze caressing across it. Two forms moved together across the monstrosity, their voices almost being swallowed by the tremendous silence of the night. 

"Heya Jacky-boy" 

"Hey Spot." The boys spit shook and started walking towards Brooklyn. 

"So what's up, Spot. Why'd ya drag me out heah at dis time a night?" 

"I's got a little problem and I need ya help" 

"Da famous Spot Conlon needs me help I's honahed" 

"Don't get too excited, it ain't dat biga deal." Spot paused for a second, "I's got a new newsie from Queens but deres been some problems and da kid can't stay heah no more." 

"So ya sayin' ya wants me ta take da guy offa ya hands?" 

"Yeah." 

"Dis ain't like ya Spot. Yous would usually jist soak any trouble makahs den kick da bummahs out. What's goin' on?" 

"Well foist off da kid ain't startin' it and secondly ya know I can't soak goils."   
  


***   
  


The two boys walked into the Brooklyn Lodging House and went up to the bunk room. Everyone paused for a moment when the door slammed open then went back to what they had been doing. There was a loud poker game going in one corner that was about to become a loud fight. A few boys were drunk and trying to sing, badly, and a few more were attempting to talk over the horrible caterwauling. Despite the noise there were boys sleeping all around room. Spot led Jack to a bunk in the far corner where one lone body was sleeping. 

"Dis is da goil I's givin'ya, Marble." Spot kicked the bottom of the bed right under the kid's head. The whole bunk shook and the body toppled onto the floor in a tangle of blankets. A head appeared out of the mess and under a mat of mud brown hair one blue-green bloodshot eye slid open to see what had happened. When she saw Spot and Jack the other eye opened, showing a washed out blue. She blinked owlishly until her eyes were both almost the same color, "Huh?" 

Spot nudged the bundle with his foot, "Git up goil" 

"Wha?" 

"Jist git up 'fore I's soak ya" 

"Yeah, whatever." Marble didn't sound very impressed but she still struggled to her feet. 

"Git ya stuff, ya goin' wit da Cowboy heah." 

"What? Now?" 

"Yea, now. I's want ya in Manhattan afore mornin'." 

"Yeah, sure, fine." She yawned and started shoving some clothes into her pillow case then wandered off, looking for something. 

"So, dis is da goil dats causin' all da trouble. She don't look like she's been in any fights." 

"I knows, she's soakin' da boys." Jack laughed. 

"Dat liddle goils been soakin' dese giants?" 

"Yeah, but don't let her heah ya callin' her a little goil, else she's gonna split ya lip, an' don't t'ink she's always like dis, dere was a liddle drinkin' contest yestahday an' she's celebratin' her victory." Spot smirked scarcastically. 

Marble came back and sat on her bunk, lowering her head into her hands. It looked like she was sleeping again. Spot grabbed her arm and dragged her to her feet, "Come on, we're goin' now, say good-bye." He continued to drag her towards the door as she waved over her shoulder. 

"Bye guys." 

There were a few grunts and waves and assorted comments. The only coherent message came as she got to the door. "If I's evah see ya face again I's gonna kill ya. Ya heah me?" 

The last comment came from a battered looking boy of about 19. He was covered in bruises and looked like he could hardly stand by himself. Marble looked at him like he was an idiot and took a swing at him. Her fist almost connected with his face but he fell back and Spot grabbed her by both arms, lifting her up, and carried her out the door smirking at the boy, "Jist like da last time roight, Beck?" 

When they were outside the building Spot let Marble go and turned to Jack who asked, "What was dat all about?" 

"Dat, was da guy she soaked." Marble tried to sit down and go back to sleep but Spot picked her up and slung her over his shoulder then started walking towards Manhattan. "Ya see he was gittin' mad dat she was out sellin' him and he went aftah 'er. When she soaked 'im he tried ta git da othahs to help 'im beat her. Now his whole gang is out ta git her and, what can I say, I's gotta soft spot for da goil, she like me kid sistah." 

They were at the base of the Brooklyn Bridge and Spot set Marble down on her feet. "Watch out for da kid, Jacky-boy. Don't let her get her self inta trouble." He turned and walked back towards the docks. 

Jack looked down at the girl standing by him in time to see a small dark shape detatch from the shadows of a building and leap onto her shoulder. Marble absently rubbed the little kitten's head and looked like she was about to pass out. Jack thought to himself, "What've I gotten me self into." 


	2. Good Morning, Sunshine

Now that Spot was gone Jack got his first really good look at the girl. She was probably an inch or two shorter than most of the Manhattan boys and she was thinner than most kids her age, kind of like Spot. Her dark hair went almost all the way down her back and was being played with by a small grey kitten at the moment. She was wearing clothes that had probably been Spot's and she had no shoes. In the fading light she was the palest person that Jack had ever seen. Jack took her things from her and put a hand on her back to get her walking. They went quietly until the kitten started batting at Jack's hand. 

"Where'd ya get dis little monsta?" 

"What, you mean Ashes? He has been following me around forever, he was a gift from a friend." Marble didn't sound tired anymore but she still looked dead on her feet. 

"So does everyone call you Cowboy?" 

"Nah, da name's Kelly, Jack Kelly." 

"Well its nice ta meet ya Kelly, Jack Kelly." 

Jack laughed, "So does everybody call ya Marble?" 

"Nope, people call me a lota things," She looked at him wryly, "but trust me when I say Marble's the best." 

"Why's dat?" 

"It's the only thing anyone calls me without swearing and Spot, of all people, came up with it." 

"Well..." 

Marble laughed, "Ya see when I first went to Brooklyn Spot tried bossin' me around and I didn't feel the need to take that from him, so when he wasn't lookin' I took his slingshot and pelted him in the back of the head with a whole handful of marbles." 

Jack laughed, "Ya kiddin', right?" 

"Nope. Spot didn't think it was real funny. He threw me off the end of the dock. I think it was worth it." 

"I wish I'd been dere." 

"I'll do it again sometime so you can see alright." 

Jack laughed, "You do dat, jist don't blame it on me alroight." 

"Don't worry, I will." 

Jack laughed again, "We's almost dere an' da boys should be in bed, but I don't t'ink alla dem will be, so ya git ta meet some a da gang tanite." 

They reached the door to the Lodging House and as they went through Jack whispered, "Kloppman's probably sleepin' so yous gonna hafta wait till morning ta meet him. He owns da place, but I think he'll let ya stay." 

On the way up the steps Ashes jumped off of Marble's shoulder and ran into the bunk room ahead of them. When Jack walked in he saw Racetrack, Kid Blink, and Dutchy playing poker in the middle of the room by candle light. Ashes was sitting on Dutchy's lap looking at his cards like he was playing also. 

"Heya Jack, what did Spot drag ya to Brooklyn for?" 

"Well, Race if ya can believe it he wanted ta give me a goil." 

"Ha, Spot give up a goil, nice one Jack." laughed Kid Blink. 

Jack just smiled and stepped away from the door letting them see Marble. "Meet Marble." 

The cigar fell right out of Race's mouth, luckily it wasn't lit. Marble waved, then her eyes slipped shut and sank to the floor. 

Jack laughed and carried her to an empty bunk. "Sorry, ya can't sleep dere goil." 

He set her stuff on the floor at the foot of the bed then looked at the three boys, and cat, in the middle of the room. 

"It's late, da game's ovah, git ta bed." Jack blew out the lamp.   
  


*** 

"Boots!" 

Most of the boys woke up when they heard Kloppman's grizzled voice, but they liked to make him work in the mornings so they waited for him to come to wake them personally. 

"Whoa, what's dis?" Skittery dropped out of his bed and saw Marble sleeping in the lower bunk. "I's know I ain't still dreamin' so whys dere a little goil in me bed?" 

Her eyes popped open and her hand shot up to grab the front of Skittery's shirt. "Who you callin' a little girl?" 

Jack was there in an instant to pry her hand off of him. "Calm down kiddo, he didn't mean nuthin'." 

She let go and tumbled out of her bed, managing to land on her feet. A crowd of boys gathered around to see why a girl was in the boy's lodging house. 

"Well, well, what's this? I ain't used to an audience this early in the morning." She spun around so they could all look at her. "Just so you know you can look, but touch me and I kill ya, K?" 

Race chuckled as he lit his cigar, "Nice, anuddah mornin' person." 

"Hey guys, shut up. Unless ya blind yous can see dat we's got a goil livin' heah now and if any a ya start hassilin' her I's gonna soak ya, me and Brooklyn. So be gentlemanly like. Now dat we's clear on dat, dis heah is Marble and she's sellin' wit us now." 

"What's goin' on heah?" Kloppman pushed his way to the middle of the crowd. "Cowboy you knows ya ain't supposed ta bring goils in heah." 

"Yeah, but dis is a special situation." 

"Alroight, you stay heah and tell me about it, but da rest a ya gotta go carry da bannah." 

All of the boys scattered to get dressed and leave while Jack explained why Marble was there. Kloppman laughed when he found out that a girl had been soaking the older boys in Brooklyn and said she could stay as long as there was no trouble and she paid the rent. On the way out the door Ashes bounded up behind them and leapt onto Marble's shoulder. She hardly even noticed, but Jack jumped when the cat streaked past his head. "Does dat cat always do dat?" 

"Yeah. He's too lazy ta walk." 

Jack just shrugged, "Listen, I's sellin' wit me partnah durin' the weekends so's I's gonna stick ya wit someone until ya know da way around Manhattan. Yous gonna hafta be careful until ya know where ya goin' cause if any a da gangs catch ya you's in trouble. Da Delancy brudders in particular, dey's got it out for da newsies." 

Marble looked at him for a minute then decide not to remind him that she could take care of herself. He was only trying to help. 

"Heya Cowboy." An irritating nasal voice called from behind them. 

"Speak a da Devil." Jack turned around, "Well if it ain't da Delancys, I's thought I smelled somethin'." 

Jack kept walking backwards and didn't slow down. He didn't want to get rushed from behind. He looked down at Marble who looked like she was falling asleep again. "Ya may wanna wake up, we's gonna be runnin' soon." 

While he was looking away the Delancys closed the space between them at a sprint. Jack dodged them and shoved Morris into his brother then grabbed Marble and started running. He let go of her once he saw that she could keep up. When they got to Newspaper Row the other newsies were cheering Jack on. He jumped up onto the statue of Horace Greenly and lounged across it's lap. Marble was dragged over to the group of boys waiting by the gates just as Morris and Oscar rushed into the square, panting. 

Jack called out from his seat, "What took ya so long, I's gonna fall asleep up heah." 

They dove at him but once they got to the statue he jumped over their heads and slipped through the gates of the Distribution Center just as they started opening. He managed to be first in line just like everyday and the Delancys were called into the office, muttering curses the whole way. 

Marble waited in line practically unnoticed because she was still dressed in boys clothing boy and had a hat pulled down over her eyes. She got to the window and bought her papers without anyone commenting then went and sat up against the statue in the square. She closed her eyes and listened to the noise from the center slowly fade away as the boys wandered off to work. She heard Jack laughing as he came over to her, 

"I can't believe dis kid can sleep so much. Well Davey if ya wanna wake her up dis is Marble." A shadow fell over her face and she opened her eyes. Jack's face was right in front of hers but when he backed away she could see three other boys waiting. One was a little better dressed then most newsies, and much cleaner. Jack introduced him as Davey, the Walkin' Mouth, and said the little boy playing with a toy sword was his younger brother Les. "They's me sellin' partnahs so I's gonna leave ya wit Crutchy today." He pointed to the last boy, who was leaning heavily on a wooden crutch. Jack said good-bye then walked off with Dave and Les. Crutchy smiled and offered a hand to help her up and to shake. 

"Nice ta meetcha Marble." 

"Yeah, hi." 

"So's if ya don't mind me askin' where'd ya get ya name?" 

Marble smiled and decided not to brush him off. He was too nice to do that to, and she didn't think ignoring him would stop him from talking.   
  



	3. The First Day

Jack got back to the Lodging House as the sun was setting. He had spent most of the day with Dave and was exhausted from the heat. When he opened the lodging house door he was greeted with a wave of laughter. All of the newsies were sprawled out on the steps listening to Marble telling stories about the Brooklyn newsies. She was getting laughs even when the story wasn't supposed to be funny. Crutchy saw Jack standing in the doorway and hobbled over to talk to him. 

"Dis goil is great. You wouldn't believe da stuff she knows about da boys ovah in Brooklyn. I's been laughin' all day. I sweah she's makin' half of it up." 

Jack grinned and pointed up so Crutchy got a head start before he yelled, "Hey bummas, get outa da way I need to walk heah." He chased everyone upstairs before Kloppman could catch them blocking the stairs. Most of the boys were as tired as him and went straight to their beds but some of them started playing cards on the floor. 

Marble was about to flop down onto her bed but a warning hiss from the pillow told her that the cat wasn't about to move for the likes of her. She sighed and sat on the floor to watch the poker game. A little while later she saw David and Les come into the room looking for Jack, who was up on the roof. Dave went out the fire escape and Les stayed in the room to watch the card game. After a few minutes he realized that he didn't understand it at all and got bored. Marble was watching him and waved him over when his attention started to wander. 

"Hey. Les, right?" 

"Yeah. Um, I'm sorry I don't remember your name." 

"It's Marble and don't worry about it. Wanna sit down?" Les sat next to her and she started explaining how to play poker to him. 

"It's a really boring game, isn't it?" 

"I've always thought so." 

Les yawned, "Where's Dave, I'm tired." 

"He'll be back in soon don't worry. Do you want me to tell you a story while we wait?" 

"Yeah!" 

Some of the boys around the room looked up when she mentioned stories, "Ya know, Marble, I's don't think those stories are appropriate fa little kids." 

"Race, I'm not tellin' him one of those, it's a bedtime story." 

She sat Les on the foot of her bed and started telling him a fairytale that she made up as she went along. Most of the younger boys gathered around her bunk to listen. After a while the poker game ended and the older boys spread out around the room, but not so far away that they couldn't hear. 

By the time Jack and Dave came back in everyone was listening to her. The older ones were pretending to sleep so they wouldn't look like they cared about some stupid children's story. Most of them hadn't had mothers to tell them stories so they appreciated it. By the time she had finished the story most of the newsies were in bed or sleeping on the floor. Even Jack looked tired where he stood leaning against a bedpost. 

"Hey, Cowboy." Marble tried to keep quiet so she wouldn't wake anyone. "Maybe we should put these kids in bed." 

Jack just nodded and started moving kids from the floor to the nearest open bunk. When he found Dave sleeping in a chair he laughed, "I's guess dese two is stayin' da night." 

* * * Dave left early in the morning to tell his parents where he had been. Marble had woken up when he left so she was ready to leave also. She was sitting on her bed with her eyes closed, looking like she was sleeping. Racetrack came over and nudged her arm to wake her up. One eye opened, then the other. 

"Yous commin' wit me an' Blink ta da track taday, lets go." He wasn't trying to be rude but he was in a hurry. They were half way down the block when Kid Blink caught up to them, "Race, I's gonna soak ya fa leavin' me again." 

"Yous can only soak me if ya can catch me." 

The two boys chased each other up and down the street, mock fighting whenever they got too close. They continued on with Marble walking behind them, stroking Ashes, until they came to the nuns. The boys instantly sobered as they got their breakfasts. They slowed down to walk by Marble, one on each side of her. 

Race took off his hat and scratched his head, "So, um, is ya sick or sumptin'?" 

"Why would I be sick?" 

Blink answered, "Well yous always fallin' asleep and yous really pale." 

"Well I can't help the way I look and I'm not usually sleeping, I'm just hungover." 

"Oh, well I's noticed dat ya don't sound like yous from New Yawk eidah." 

"That's because I'm not really from New York, I'm from lotsa places." 

The way she said it ended that subject. Blink gave her a considering look and asked, "So, ya any good at sellin' papes?" 

She smiled, "I'm better than you." 

"Oh, really?" 

"Yeah, I mean how can you sell papes when your so slow." She grabbed both their hats and took off running. The boys grinned at each other and took off after her. 

* * * "Ten cents on Pips." Race, Blink and Marble had been at the track all day and after they finished selling their papers they had started looking at horses. Race had wanted to bet on a piebald in the second race but Marble had convinced him to go with a grey palomino called Pips. They went down to the track after placing the bet and Race warned Marble 

"If ya wrong yous owe me a dime." 

"Yeah well when I'm right your buyin' me dinner." 

"Fine" 

They shook on it just as the gates opened. Race shut his eyes and prayed, "I feel sick." Blink had the railing in a death grip and was jumping up and down yelling. Marble just smiled and watched the race. 

Over the noise of screaming fans Race heard, "And out of nowhere Pips takes the lead and we have a winner!" His eyes popped open and he grabbed Marble in a bear hug. 

"Yous gotta come ta da track wit me more often." 

"Only if you keep buyin' me dinner." 

* * * 

At Tibby's that night Race was telling the story for the eighth time to another group of newsies who had just walked in. Jack, Marble and Blink were sitting in a booth in the back of the restaurant laughing. 

"Each time he tells da story da horse gets fasta an' da bet gets bigga." 

"I's was dere an' I don't remember any a dat happenin', how's about you Marble?" 

She looked up from her plate, "Who cares what happened. He won and I get a free meal." 

"All's ya evah think about is food an' sleep, ain't it goil?" 

Spot Conlon had managed to come in unnoticed while everyone was listening to Racetrack's story about a flying horse and winning twenty dollars. 

"Heya Jacky-boy. Hey Kid, how's ya treatin' da goil?" 

He sat down in the booth next to Marble and put his arm around her shoulder. She looked at his hand for a second then tried to stab it with her fork but moved it away, smirking. "Maybe I's should say how da goil's treatin' you. She's still heah, but has she got in any fights yet?" 

"Naw, what'd ya mean still heah?" 

"Ya see dis kid ain't too reliable, she's always leavin' jist when ya need 'er." 

She looked over and stuck her tongue out at him. Spot yelped and jumped out of his seat. The three newsies still sitting looked at him like he was crazy until they saw Ashes jump onto his seat from under the table with her claws still out. Spot glared at the cat then picked him up and sat down, with the Ashes now in his lap. 

"Hey Dustball, how's it goin'?" 

Ashes just stared at him until Spot started scratching him under the chin. He sat there playing with the kitten for while and listening to Race restart his story, but since Marble wasn't paying attention he tried to steal some of her food. Ashes meowed and Marble saw Spot reaching for her plate. He bounced out of his seat after being threatened with a fork again. 

"Fine, keep ya food," he started walking towards the door, "Jist so's ya 'member da poker game's in two nights an' we needs ya dere or we's only gonna be takin' our own money." 

"I remember an' don't worry we's gonna be dere." 

Jack and Spot grinned at each other. Spot left the restaurant, winking at a table of girls by the door. Once he was outside they started whispering and giggling. 

Blink glared after him, "Dat Spot Conlon's got half da goils in New Yawk afta' 'im." 

"Yeah, and the other half's already had him or they're too scared of 'im to try." 

"Which half are yous on?" 

Marble just smiled at Blink and said, "I thought I told you, Kid, I ain't really from New York." 


	4. Duel

Marble woke up. She lay there for a few minutes trying to figure out why. She heard a soft noise across the room and looked for it's source. One of the boys was already up and getting ready to leave. Since she was awake now Marble decided to follow him. She got ready to leave without being noticed and slipped out the door after him with Ashes close behind. 

"Hey, Dutchy, wait." He jumped and turned to see who it was. When he recognized her he stopped and waited for her to catch up then they started walking towards the Distribution Center together. 

"Do you always leave this early or is it just because of me being here?" 

He looked startled for a second, "Dere's nuthin' wrong wit ya, I's just a little noivous around goils." 

"Why? We don't bite." She considered that for a minute, "Too hard." 

He smiled down at her as they walked. 

* * * 

"Why'd ya decide to come wit me dis mornin'?" 

The two newsies had been wandering around for most of the day and they were almost out of papers. They had learned early on that they made a great team, both being very pale and thin. Ashes also mewled pathetically whenever anyone passed. Most people bought their papes out of pity but when no one fell for it both of them just made stuff. It became a challenge for them to come up with a headline more outrageous than the other one while still remaining believable. 

"You woke me up." 

"Dat's it? I jist woke ya up an' decided to follow me all day?" 

"That and I don't want Race to use me to bet on horses for him all of the time. He seems to think I'll keep letting him take credit for it." 

"Dat sounds a lot like Race. He seems ta t'ink he's lucky." They lapsed into silence long enough to get rid of the rest of their papers. They finished at almost the same instant so Marble scooped Ashes up and they started walking back in the general direction of home. 

"Hey Dutchy, how'd you become a newsie? If ya don't mind me asking that is." 

"Oh, I don't mind," Dutchy took a minute to dredge it up from his memory, "Me folks wanted ta go out west when I was seven I t'ink, but dey didn't have enough money ta git t'ree tickets so I went ta stay wit me aunt an' uncle 'till dey could afford ta send for me. Well dere was a accident, da train derailed I t'ink, an' me folks was killed. Well da family I's was stayin' wit was really poor so me and Pie Eater, he's my cousin, started sellin' papes. Da center's on da oddah side a town so we moved to da Lodging House. A while back we's went ta see how da folks was doin' but dey had left and nobody knew were dey went. Da two a us've been livin' wit da newsies since den." He stopped and looked at her, "So how'd you's get ta be heah?" 

Marble chewed her lip for a second then sighed, "It's only fair, but you have to promise not to tell anyone about it. I don't like people knowing, they talk if you know what I mean." 

She waited until he nodded, "I'm not sure where I'm from originally, but I do remember a lot of traveling. You know trains, carriages, boats and all sorts of things like that. I think I was changing orphanages. I do know that every few years I would end up back in New York so I decided to run away and stay here the next time I got back. Well last year I made it here again, met Spot and started working in Brooklyn. After a while there was some trouble and I had to go to Queens to sell. The owner died a month ago and his replacement said no girls so I went back to Brooklyn until I got in trouble again. I swear I can't be there for more than two weeks without starting a fight." 

When Marble finished they were walking next to Central Park. They went it and ran into Crutchy. They helped him finish up and went back to the lodging house. Instead of going back out and buying dinner they ate some of the food in the kitchen, and regretted it later, then they played cards until the others started coming back. It was late and most of the newsies wanted to sleep so the lights were put out and everyone who didn't agree, including the cat, was sent out to the roof. 

Before she fell asleep Marble rolled over and called to Dutchy in the next bunk, "Let's sell together tomorrow, it was fun." 

Dutchy smiled at her, "Sure, we make a great team." 

* * * 

It was early again when Dutchy, Marble and Ashes left, so nobody saw them go. Since the Distribution Center wasn't open yet they sat in the square and talked for a while. "Dutchy, you're a really nice guy, why don't you have a girl?" 

"I's told ya yesterday, goils make me noivous" Dutchy blushed a little and became very interested in his dusty old shoes. 

Marble looked at him for a second then accused him, "You do like someone, tell me who she is." 

Dutchy was jumped but he admitted, "Dere's dis little restaurant down da street an' da owner's daughta is an angel. She's real sweet, an' beautiful, she even buys me papes sometimes." he sighed, "I's jist can't talk ta someone dat poifect." 

Marble smiled and jumped to her feet, "So where is this place?" 

He gave her a suspicious look but he still lead her a few blocks away to a small building crouching on a corner. The restaurant had a handful of empty tables set up out front under an canopy. Marble grabbed Dutchy's hand and lead him to one of the tables, kitten following close behind. After a minute a young blond girl around sixteen came out to serve them and, by the way he was blushing and staring at the table top, Marble could tell that this was the girl he liked. 

She smiled at the two newsies and asked if they wanted anything. Her cheeks were flushed and she kept glancing at Dutchy out of the corner of her eye. A shy smile played across her lips. 

Marble grinned and bounced out of her seat, "Did you know that my friend Dutchy here was the leader in the strike against the World last year?" Dutchy gave her a shocked look but had to turn his attention to the awestruck girl who sank into the seat across from him. He was trying to explain that it wasn't exactly true while Marble ran off, laughing to herself. Halfway down the block she realized that Ashes had stayed at the table like the lousy little freeloader he was. 

* * * In the square the clanging of the circulation bell was fading from the air and Jack's daily fight with the Delancys was winding down. Marble caught him as he was slipping through the gates. 

"Heya Jack, I was wondering about something." 

"Sure, what's on ya mind?" 

"Well I know I came here to get outta Brooklyn, but do ya think it would be alright if I went to the poker game tonight anyway?" 

"Ain't nobody stoppin' ya, an' besides we's gonna all be dere so none a dem can hoit ya." 

"They can't hurt me, I just don't wanna cause any trouble." 

Jack laughed, "Well if ya comin' yous gonna want ta get a couple less papes taday, so we can git dere on time." 

"Are you getting less?" 

"Naw, I's good enough ta sell just as many in half a da time." He put down fifty cents for his papers. 

"I'm taking that as a challenge." She smacked down her own half dollar and said, "First one outta papes, me, goes ta Tibby's and waits for the loser, you, to buy them dinner." 

Jack laughed again as he picked up his papers, "Spot was right, all yous think about is food." 

They shook hands and headed down the street in opposite directions. Marble called over her shoulder, "Oh, Cowboy, don't make me wait too long."   
  


* * * 

Marble was walking towards Tibby's as fast as she could go without actually running. It was just after one o'clock and it was the fastest she had ever sold a hundred papes. As she rounded the corner she saw Jack at the other end of the block. He saw her at the same time and they both froze for a split second then took off running towards the restaurant. 

Both of them hit the door at the same time and grabbed for the handle. They were tried to force each other out of the way and get through the door first. Marble kicked down on the back of Jack's knee and jumped through the door when his legs buckled under him. She spun around and yelled Ha, as he picked himself up. 

Her smug expression faded when she turned to face a room full of newsies who were just staring at them both blankly. The pair glanced at each other and got really hoity-toity looks on their faces then linked arms and strolled to an empty table like they owned the place. 

The sat down and managed to keep straight faces for just about ten seconds before their eyes met and they both cracked up. They were banging on the table and clutching their sides, trying to stop their eyes from watering. Everybody in the restaurant remained completely quiet and just stared at them until Marble fell out of her seat from laughing too hard. Then the boys, and some of the waiters, exploded with hysterical laughter. 


	5. Poker Night

A huge group of rowdy boys made their way towards Brooklyn. It was getting dark and they had the whole street to themselves. There was play fighting and arguing throughout the group and every few minutes a boy would break out of the crowd and do a flip or a cartwheel or some other random acrobatic stunt (all very well choreographed and yet spontaneous). About every month Brooklyn and Manhattan newsies would get togther to play poker and everyone was excited. The games usually lasted all night and ended up with boys from both territories completely drunk. Following behind the group was a girl and a boy with a crutch. 

"So what ever happened ta Dutchy dis mornin'?" 

"He was talking to a girl last I saw him, he also stole my cat." 

"Dutchy talkin' wit a goil. I swear things 'ave been gettin' weird since ya came heah." 

"You can always hope they become normal once we get back ta Brooklyn, can't ya." 

"I guess. Hey, Marble, why's ya comin' wit us, you told me dat yous don't like pokah." 

"I don't like it, I just have to get something from Spot." 

"Spot? What's he got?" 

Marble smiled, "I'll tell ya if I get it." 

"You make me neoivous when ya smile. Yous only smile like that if ya gonna do somethin' dats gonna get ya in trouble." 

She laughed, "Don't worry about it, it'll make a great story later." 

Crutchy gave her a suspicious look and dropped the subject.   
  


***   
  


Jack stopped the group outside of the Brooklyn Lodging House for a minute. "Ok, Fellas you 'member da rules, no fightin', no cheatin', an' if ya get drunk an' puke on da floor we ain't gonna stop dem from throwin' ya offa da dock again." 

Everyone glanced at Kid Blink at the end of Jack's speech then filed through the door. He looked at the ground, embarrassed, then Jack laughed and threw his arm around Blink's shoulders to drag him in. Marble and Crutchy rounded the corner in time to see the last boys slip inside. They picked up their pace a little but by the time the made it into the house there were already at least five poker games started, as well as a few other things involving cards and money. Crutchy went to join one of the quieter games off in a corner while Marble pushed her way through a crowd to the loudest game she could find. Sure enough, in the middle of it was Spot, along with Jack, Racetrack, Blink and two boys she knew from Brooklyn, Dublin and Twitch. 

"Heya Twitchy, how's it goin'?" 

He flinched when her hand landed on his shoulder and looked up. "I's alroight, ya likin' Manhattan?" 

"Yea, it's great. Hey, is Beck around." 

Dublin smiled at her, "Naw he's a little hung over, he's upstairs sleepin'." 

"Great." She slipped into the empty space behind Spot's chair to watch the game. Spot usually never let anyone stand behind him, where they could give his hand away but Marble had a better poker face than he did so he let her stay. 

There were bottles of alcohol all over the table but most of them were still unopened. As the night went on and guys started losing money the bottles started getting emptied and thrown on the floor. The only one that stayed on the table was the one by Spot. He was drinking just as much as the others but his bottle always seemed to be full, no one really noticed. After about two hours Spot's speech was starting to slur and his eyes seemed to lose focus. When a fight almost broke out across the room drawing everyone's attention away from the game Marble started whispering in Spot's ear. After a minute he grinned and let her lead him away to his room. Again no one really noticed and someone took Spot's seat so they could continue playing. 

Some of the Manhattan boys left early so they could make curfew and they were followed about half an hour later by Marble. She slipped out of Spot's room and down the stairs with a large bundle under her arm then went outside. The few people who did notice this time assumed that she was taking something she had forgotten earlier and going back to Manhattan. 

It was almost midnight when Spot exploded into the room in a complete rage. Everybody froze and a few boys started snickering until Spot's murderous gaze fell on them. He was wearing nothing but his pants and one suspender, which was falling off of his shoulder. His hair was sticking in all directions like a haystack, but instead of being funny it made him look like a madman on a rampage. 

"I's gonna kill dat goil! Where is she? Where'd she go?" 

Someone finally got the courage to tell him, "I think she left." Spot swept one more evil look around the room then stormed out the door. 

The cool air hit his bare chest like a slap and cleared his head for a second, but once he saw a small figure sitting on a stack of crates on the dock his rage came rushing back. He stalked (as best as he could, still being pretty drunk) towards her until he could see her face clearly in the moonlight. 

"What da hell's wrong wit ya. Gimme back me clothes." 

"No" 

"NO!?" 

"You heard me, no." She was swinging her feet like a little kid who couldn't reach the ground and her eyes were shining but her face and voice were perfectly calm. She just looked at him with her clear blue eyes practically glowing in the dim light. Meeting that steady gaze cleared some of Spot's anger but his eyes still blazed when he turned to the large group of newsies who had followed him outside. 

"What a yous all doin' out heah? Dis ain't nona ya business. Git back inside an' play ya games." 

Most of the boys filed back into the building, but Jack stepped forward, "Dis is me business if ya gonna try ta hoit da goil. I's supposta take care a her 'member?" 

"Jack jist go, I ain't gonna hoit nobody." 

"Ya sure, yous still real drunk an' ya might forget ya said dat once I's inside." 

"It's alright, just go." 

Jack looked up at Marble and she nodded reassuringly at him. He started walking away, still keeping an eye on the two of them and listening until he was too far away to hear. 

"So is ya gonna give me stuff back now?" 

"Not until you give me something." 

Spot gave her a suspicious look, "What?" 

"You know what I want." 

"No, I d...... yous kiddin' roight?" Spot half laughed, half snorted when she shook her head. He started climbing the crates and almost fell near the top but Marble grabbed him and hauled him the rest of the way up. While he was getting comfortable she handed him his shirt and Jack thought he heard her say, "It's getting cold." 

Spot sat quietly for a minute, staring at the stars, then he started talking softly. As he spoke Marble handed his things back and he piled them next to him so he could keep going. When all she still had were his shoes and gold tipped cane Marble rested her head against his shoulder and closed her eyes. Just as Jack was going through the door he saw Spot slip his arm around Marble's waist.   
  


***   
  


The sun was coming up as the Manhattan newsies left Brooklyn. Most of them had won a lot of money and were joking around or whistling cheerfully. All of the noise they were making woke Marble, who had fallen asleep out on the dock. She saw them passing and joined Crutchy, who was bringing up the rear again. 

"So didja get what ya wanted from Spot?" 

"Yup!" The extra perky way Marble said it made her seem like a very self-stisfied five year old. 

"Well, what was it day ya wanted from 'im?" 

She smiled, "A story." 

"A story?" 

"Yea, when we were little he would tell me stories to shut me up, but now I have to force them out of him." 

"Wait a minute, yous knew Spot Conlon when yous was little?" 

"Yeah." 

"Like way back when 'e used 'is real name an' was all cute an' all dat?" 

"Yeah." 

"Well...?" 

"Well what?" 

"What's 'is real name?" 

Marble gave Crutchy a weird look, "It's his name, ask him." 

Crutchy knew she wouldn't tell someone else's secret so he smile and changed the subject, "I's was wonderin' how's ya got Spot's clothes away from 'im?" 

Marble laughed, "I got 'im drunk." She took a second to compose her self, "I just kept his drink full so he couldn't tell how much he had drank. Then, when he was too drunk to think, I challenged him to a game of strip poker and cheated." 

Crutchy joined her laughing, "So's ya gonna tell me ya new story." 

"Yeah, sure." 


	6. Confessions

Marble had been in Manhattan for two weeks and had finally made a place for herself, without fighting. Dutchy had gotten a weekend job at his girlfriend, Angela's, restaurant so he only sold papers four days a week, leaving Marble alone the other three. She was usually alone with Ashes or spent the day with Crutchy, but after she finished selling she would always go to the track and pick horses with Race. She wasn't the best, but compared to him anything was an improvement. 

"Two dollars, two whole dollars, I's nevah had dis much money in me life. I'm buyin' everyone dinnah tanite." 

"Now that's what I like to hear. I'll race you there." 

The two excited newsies ran as fast as they could to Tibby's. Marble got there first and gasped out, "Race has a huge surprise." 

He burst through the door out of breath and exhausted, but laughing, "What's goin' on Race? Marble says yous gotta surprise fa us." 

He nodded and shook his head at the same time, still too out of breath to speak. Everyone looked at him confused for a minute until Snipeshooter caught on. 

"He wants to wait for everyone to get here." Race nodded and collapsed in to a chair still laughing. 

He would jump out of his seat and recount the boys in the room every time anyone came in. After an hour only one person was still missing but Race was out of patience, "I won two bucks at da track taday!" 

The entire room froze and stared at him. Jack had just opened the door when Race spoke and he just stood there until someone else pushed him through. Spot broke the silence as he came in, "So how much ya givin' me?" 

The whole room exploded. "I'll tell ya me secret sellin' spot fa a dollar." 

"I'll give ya me goil." 

"I'll be ya slave." 

"I'll do anything you ask." Even Ashes was trying to get his attention by pawing at his leg and mewling. Marble pushed her way through the mob of boys to where Race had been forced back into a chair and knelt down beside him. One hand slid around his neck and the other cupped around his ear so she could whisper and not be heard. His smile quickly turned to a look of complete shock and he tried to look at her, but she held his head still and kept talking. The other boys got quiet and leaned closer to hear what she was telling him as his eyes widened and his mouth fell open. 

He suddenly jerked his head free and stared at Marble, "Can yous actually do dat!?" 

She nodded and winked at him. Race looked at her for a minute then at the hand he was holding the money in then back to her. Girl, money, girl, money, girl, money, his eyes stopped on Marble then he said, "Nah, I like me money bettah." 

She smacked him on the back of the head and stood up, "Damn, well I wasn't actually gonna do it anyway." 

Race smiled, "I know." 

Marble went to sit with Spot and Jack and all of the other boys crowded around Race to find out what she had said but he only shook his head and laughed. After he got then calmed down Race ordered dinner for everyone and they stayed there talking and eating for hours. 

* * * 

"Jacky-boy, walk wit me." Spot left Tibby's and waited for Jack to get free of Race's party. 

When he was outside Spot started walking in the general direction of Brooklyn. He was staring at the ground and Jack could tell that he had something on his mind. He seemed miserable and it would be a while before he would bring himself to say why, "Ya know, I've known dat goil fa ovah ten yeahs now." 

Jack glanced at Spot out of the corner of his eye and pulled his hat onto his head. For some reason knowing that Spot was dwelling over Marble made Jack a uncomfortable. 

"I 'member we met on da Brooklyn Bridge." 

* * * 

He was running. Running from the past, running from the future, but mostly running from the present. His ears echoed with the snap and crackle of the fire, the screams of women and all of the crying. Tears blurred his vision so he didn't see the little girl sitting in the road until he tripped over her. 

"Hey, watch where you're goin'." For a six year old there was enough force in her voice to stop the him from just taking off again. Instead he stopped and looked at the small person he had tripped over. She was wearing a ragged skirt and had dirt smudges on her face, like she had been living on the streets for a while. 

"You should watch where ya goin' when ya run, specially in da dark. Hey, why's ya cryin'?" She had noticed the tears running through the soot on his face. 

With tears still streaming down his cheeks he snapped, "I ain't cryin'." 

"Yes you is, and you're dirty, what happened to ya?" 

Visions of his house on fire, people screaming, firefighters running, yelling and blackened bodies came back in a rush and he collapsed into a ball, sobbing. He heard a soft gasp and felt her small arms wrap around him. A tiny, cool hand stroked the sweaty hair back from his face and she held him until he had cried himself out completely. 

"Are you ok? What happened?" He looked up into her concerned little face and saw her soft blue eyes encouraging him to tell her. 

He sniffed a few times and started, "I was comin' home from the park an' I was really late and I was runnin', cause I didn't want mommy to worry. When I got home people were screaming and crying and the apartment was burnin'." He almost started crying again but he held back the tears, "One a the firefighters tried to keep me from seeing but I saw. There were bodies in the street, all burned up and I knew they were me parents. I ran away and I ain't goin' back or they're gonna put me in an orphanage and I ain't wanna be in an orphanage." 

"They're tryin' ta put me there too but I have a place to hide. Wanna see?" 

He sniffled again and nodded, "I'm Ben Conlon." 

He stuck out his hand and she laughed, "I'm Margaret O'Reilly, Maggie. You're awful scrawny Ben, do you eat enough?" 

"I eat plenty and I ain't scrawny." He was very sensitive about his size. 

"Sure you are but that's ok I still like you." 

He looked at her askance, but she started walking towards the Manhattan side of the bridge and he had to follow or be left alone. They went to what looked like a warehouse and slipped into a basement window. There was old cloth all over the floor and it smelled like mold and coal. It was the basement of an unused textile mill. Maggie led him to a corner where some rags had been piled into a bed. She kicked some more onto it so it would be big enough to fit both of them. 

When Ben settled down Maggie asked him, "Do you think you can sleep? 'Cause if you can't I can sing, my mommy used to sing to me when I couldn't sleep." 

He was tired and confused and sad so he just nodded and let her sing. He fell asleep listening to a lullaby and thinking of his parents. 

* * * 

"You know shes nevah told me nothin' about her family and I've nevah really asked her. I guess it was nevah important, or mebbe it jist nevah came up, but eithah way I don't really know anythin' 'bout her." They had just turned onto a street where they could see the Brooklyn Bridge and they were slowly walking towards it through a rising fog. 

"We's was togetha fa a coupla months den da folks from da orphanage caught up wit us. She helped me git away but dey got her. A while latah she found me an' said dat she had escaped, but she had ta leave New Yawk. She asked me ta go wit her but I was a newsie an' I had friends I didn't wanna leave. She left without me but she promised ta come back when it was safe again. Now she comes back every coupla months or weeks or whenevah. Marble jist ain't da kinda goil who sits around, she hasta be movin' an' doin' stuff. She's always singin' an' messin' around and pissin' people off. She always treated me like I was a little kid. She t'ought I couldn't take care a meself witout 'er, until jist t'ree years ago. 

* * * 

Spot had just finished selling his papers when Maggie jumped on his back. She always did something completely unexpected to get his attention. So he wouldn't feel too safe she had said. 

"Heya Scrawny." 

"Hey goilie, yous back again?" 

"Just for the week." 

"Great, so what a we gonna break, da law, some windows, my head?" 

"That's what I'm tryin' ta do." She laughed and dropped off of his back, ruffling his hair on the way down. He grabbed at her but she dodged an ran down the street swerving between people and wagons with Spot close behind. 

When they were nearing the Brooklyn Lodging House Spot slowed down, "Hey, mebbe we should go somewhere else." 

"Like where? Out ta dinner, a movie, the track, or a secluded area of the park." She gave him a suggestive wink and laughed at the disgusted look on his face. 

"Naw, jist somewhere where ya can't mess up me stuff, again." 

"Hey that wasn't my fault, and your door got fixed, what more could ya ask?" 

He sighed, "From you, nothin'. Come on, I guess I'll buy ya dinner." 

She gasped and spoke in a breathy lisp, "Spot Conlon, is this a date?" 

He rolled his eyes and ignored her. They went to a small Italian restaurant and stayed until closing. Because it was too dark to do anything else Spot gave in and let Maggie come to the lodging house. 

"Jist remembah, if yous break anything dis time yous nevah coming back." 

"Whatever you say Scrawny." 

"And quit callin' me dat. It's Spot." 

"Alright, Scrawny." She slipped through his door and flopped onto his bed, "So where you gonna sleep?" 

"On me bed. You ain't stayin'." 

She sat up with a mock hurt expression on her face, "But Scrawny, who's gonna tuck you in and keep the monsters away." 

"I don't need tuckin' in." Spot couldn't keep a growl of irritation out of his voice, "An' keep it down, yous gonna wake da boys." 

"What, are you afraid that they're gonna find out about me." The amused look melted from her face and it became suspicious and angry, "Is that why you didn't want me to come here when they were still awake? God forbid the mighty Spot Conlon have a girl in his room without sleeping with her. I wouldn't want to hurt your precious reputation by letting the boys know that there is one girl you can't get." 

Spot's temper suddenly flared, "No it's da one goil I don't want. An' I don't need you heah tellin' me what ta do an' treatin' me like a baby. You ain't me mutta or me sista or any part a me family so jist stop." 

"Fine Spot," She spit his name out like it was poison, "I'll leave you alone but you'll be sorry and I ain't forgivin' ya until you figure it out." 

She got up and left, slamming the door on the way out, leaving Spot alone and completely confused. 

* * * 

"I's didn't think she'd evah come back afta dat, but she did and she acted like nothin' evah happened. 'Cept she nevah sings anymore an' she always calls me Spot. I still don't know what she wants from me." 

Jack looked at Spot from under his hat, he was still walking with his head down, watching the dust he was kicking up. They were good friends but Jack was worried by this sudden openness. He couldn't tell exactly what Spot was trying to tell him and he was about to ask when Spot started talking again. 

"Ya know she's nevah missed my boithday, an' I sweah I nevah told 'er when it was. Sometimes she only shows up for da day, but she's always heah, 'cept last year she almost missed it." 

* * * 

Spot had been prowling the Brooklyn Bridge all day. He hadn't even gone to sell papers in the morning. He was waiting for Maggie to come. She was usually there waiting for him at sunup, but it was almost sunset and there was no sign of her. By the time it was completely dark Spot had come to the conclusion that she wasn't coming. It was the first time she had missed his birthday. 

Spot was tired and depressed when he went back to the lodging house for the night. He was about to open his door when he heard a sound from inside his room. He froze and listened but he didn't hear anything else. He slowly pushed the door open but he didn't see anything unusual in the dark. 

"Heya Scrawny." 

Only one person had ever called him that, "Ain't breakin' an' entry illegal goil?" 

He heard a harsh laugh as he lit a candle. Maggie was sitting on the floor leaning against his bed, but he wouldn't have recognized her if hadn't called him Scrawny just a second ago. Her face was covered in bruises and blood and one eye was swollen almost completely shut. There were large rips in her clothes, like someone had been trying to stab her but there were no major cuts underneath. 

Spot rushed to her side, "What happened?" 

"Oh you know, the usual. Some guys wanted my money, among other things, and I wanted to keep it. As you can see they were pretty thorough in arguing their side of the case. It's a good thing that I know this city inside out and was able to lose them, right?" Spot gently brushed the dark purple welt on her cheek, she winced an pulled away from his hand. 

"Sorry, maybe yous should lie down." He carefully took her in his arms an lifted her onto his bed. She gasped when he touched her and he saw more cuts and bruises through the holes in her clothes. He could also see a lot more than cuts. 

Spot blushed and turned away, "Mebbe I's should getcha some new clothes." 

He could tell that she was smiling behind his back, "Yeah, Maybe." 

He went to the chest at the foot of his bed to get something that didn't fit him anymore. While he was going through the chest he could hear Maggie taking off her torn clothes. 

She laughed when he kept his back to her and asked, "Spot, are you going to be alright?" 

"Yea, jist hurry up and get changed." He handed her the new clothes behind his back and he could tell that she was silently laughing at him now. He left the room so she could change and so he could get his thoughts together, without a half naked girl a few feet away. When he went back in with a washcloth and a small tub of water he found her sitting up in his bed, leaning against the headboard. She tried to take the cloth away from him, but he wouldn't let her 

"Yous proba'ly too weak to do dis yaself." He started wiping some of the dried blood and dirt off of her. 

"I'm not weak," she gasped when he pushed a little too hard on a cut, "just hurtin'." 

"Do ya want me ta let ya do it?" 

She closed her eyes and let her head fall back with a sigh, "No." 

She stayed like that even after he finished and had put everything away. He sat down in a chair across the room and watched her for a few minutes. 

She opened her eyes and smiled at him, "Come here." 

"Huh?" 

"Come 'ere." 

He walked over to the bed and she spread her arms, almost like she wanted a hug, "Come 'ere." 

He leaned over a little and her arms shot out and wrapped around him, pulling him onto the bed next to her. He squirmed for a few seconds but she took his face in her hands and kissed him gently on the forehead. 

"Happy Birthday." 

She lay her head on his chest and closed her eyes. Spot rested his head on his pillow contentedly, Maggie hadn't missed his birthday and she was going to be fine. Everything would be alright, "Spot?" 

"Yeah." He looked down when she didn't say anything. She just stared at him quietly for a minute then rested her head back on his chest and fell asleep. 

* * * 

"I started teachin' 'er ta fight more den one person afta she was feelin' betta. She didn't want somethin' fa nothin' so she taught me how ta run an' hide anywhere in da city. Dats saved me more den once. She was a newsie wit me fa a while den I's had ta send her ta Queens. Da owner of da lodgin' house died an' she got kicked out so she came back ta me. Den dere were some fights again an' I's sent her ta you." They were almost across the bridge by now and Spot stopped to look out over the water. He leaned against the railing for a while, staring out onto the water with his back to Jack. 

He spoke over his shoulder, "Yous know dat I's coulda handled da fightin' roight?" 

Jack nodded, "Yea, Spot, I know." 

"An' you nevah asked why I was givin' her ta ya?" 

"No." 

"Well I's gonna tell ya," Spot paused for a minute and looked up at the sky, "If I'd kept her I woulda messed everythin' up, she's my best friend. I wouldn't be able ta stop meself from tryin' somethin'" 

"What'd ya mean try sumpthin'?" Jack whispered the question, hoping it wasn't what he thought. 

Spot was quiet for so long that Jack thought he hadn't heard but he finally spoke, "I'm fallin' for her an' I's gonna do sumpthin' stupid if I'm alone wit 'er." 


	7. The Man You Are In Me

Jack didn't get back to the lodging house until late that night. After Spot left he had wandered around thinking about their conversation. Spot had gone out with hundreds of girls, but he had never gotten upset about messing it up. Jack thought he might actually love Marble, and he had no idea what to do or think about it. Spot was his best friend and it was the first time he had ever confided in him, but she had never shown any real interest in him and he was afraid Spot would get hurt. 

Sometime during the night Ashes joined him and jumped on his shoulder. He had gotten used to the cat showing up. Jack scratched the kitten under the chin, still thinking, while he walked up the steps to the bunkroom. 

Even though it was late he could still hear talking coming from inside the room. When he opened the door it was dark and everyone was sleeping, but the window to the fire escape was open. The voices and laughter were drifting down from the roof. 

He listened to them as he climbed the stairs, "No, really, it's a rabbit. Just turn your head to the side a little and squint." 

"I's still don't see da rabbit. I think it looks lika wagon." 

"A WAGON!!?. What are you, mad? It's a little bunny rabbit!" 

Marble and Race were laying on the roof side by side staring at the stars arguing while Blink and Mush were sitting on the edge of the roof laughing. 

Ashes jumped off of Jack's shoulder and bounded over to lay on Marble's stomach, "Heya handsome." 

"Hi an' yous ain't too bad ya self ya know." 

Marble tilted her head upside down to look at Jack, "I meant the cat." He just shrugged and smiled and she went back to her argument, "See over there is it's ear and there is the poofy cotton tail." 

"An' dats da wheel a da wagon." 

"There is no wheel. It's a bunny. Bunnies have no wheels!" 

"Dey been at dis evah since we's got back." Blink laughed as he spoke and shook his head, "I tried helpin' but I t'ink it's a tree." Two hats came flying across the roof at him, one hitting his chest and the other his face. 

"Oh, Jack I's jist 'membahed sumpthin'. Davey came by earliah and he tol' us dat tommera deres a big ol' celebration in Central Park. I forgit why, but it seemed poitty important." 

"So yous guys goin'?" 

"A course, dere's gonna be great sellin'." Mush and Blink looked at each other then headed towards the fire escape, "an' tons a goils." 

Jack was about to leave when Marble called, "Jack, you're smart, what does this look like to you?" 

He looked at the cluster of stars that she pointed out for a while, "Poisonally, I's say it's a bunch a stars." 

Race and Marble slowly sat up and turned to stare at him. They jumped up at the same time and chased him down the fire escape and into the bunkroom. 

* * * 

Central Park was full of children. Ranging from toddlers barely able to walk to teenagers looking for a quiet area to 'talk'. They were filling the entire park, making adults avoid the place as much as possible. And there were newsies. Everywhere you turned in the park there was a person holding papers calling outrageous headlines, and they were selling out. They had come from all over New York to take advantage of the crowded event. A small pond was surrounded with newsies who had already finished. 

"So Jacky-boy, yous enjoyin' ya self?" Jack woke up and looked out from under his hat to see Spot strolling over, basking in the adoring looks of girls of all ages and classes. Any sign of the nervous, insecure boy from last night was gone, but Jack looked at him differently now. His flirting somehow seemed more like a cover up than a desire to get one of the many girls after him. 

"I was poifectly happy 'till some little punk woke me up." 

Spot grinned and sat down in the grass next to him, "Yous real pleasant when ya foist wake up, ya know dat." 

Jack would have had a witty comeback, but a splash and a piercing screech cut through the noise in the park. 

Marble was pulling herself out of the pond screaming, "Mush, Dublin, when I catch you you're DEAD!!" 

The two boys ran for their lives from the dripping figure by the water, but they made a mistake. They ran around the pond instead of away from it. 

Marble caught Dublin first, his size made him slower. She reached out, running full speed and grabbed his arm, then twisted around and swung him into the pond. He came up sputtering, but she was gone, chasing after Mush. When she was right behind him she tried to grab him also, but she slipped on the wet grass by the water and slammed into him. 

They both fell into the water, splashing everywhere. The three newsies in the pond started splashing and dunking each other until they realized that the boys by the water were all laughing at them. When they saw all of the dry, happy people around them they couldn't resist. All three of them rushed out of the water at the same time and started pushing people in. 

Most of the boys scattered but some were too slow and got drenched. When things had calmed down Racetrack, Specs, Blink, Snipeshooter and Dutchy had ended up in the water along with Frick and Frack, boy and girl twins from Brooklyn. 

There were also dozens of boys who had managed to stay out of the pond, but still got soaked from the splashing. Two of them were Spot Conlon and Jack Kelly. They sat dripping for a minute then Spot wiped the water off of his face and picked up a dirt clod. He hefted it for a second then whipped it at the newsies in the water, hitting Blink directly in the face. In an instant there was dirt, mud and scummy water flying everywhere. When the chaos finally ended there were fewer newsies by the water, but they were all much dirtier. 

Boots, Skittery, Bumlets, Snitch and Twitch were the unlucky few who hadn't gotten away before Jack and Spot had started the mud fight. The ten newsies in the water pulled themselves out after rinsing most of the mud from their bodies and the seven still outside tried wiping the dirt off of their clothes with their hands, but finally gave up in defeat. All seventeen of them started walking to the Lodging House. 

A large open circle traveled through Central Park with the muddy newsies in the middle. Nobody wanted to get too close to the laughing teenagers, especially when every few minutes Marble or Frick would shake their heads, sending a spray of muddy water out from their long hair. 

As they neared the entrance to the park Ashes came running through the group and jumped for Marble's shoulder. In midair he twisted around, landing on his feet hissing at the mud people around him then ran off down the street, leaving a laughing group to follow him back to the house. When they were only two blocks away Marble and Frick took off running for no apparent reason so the boys just ignored it and kept walking. When they got to the lodging house they found the bathroom door shut blocked from the inside and all of the windows covered with sheets. 

They tried opening it and Marble called out, "We're busy and if you try opening that again you're gonna die." 

Fifteen very dirty boys were left to stand around for almost twenty minutes before the girls gave up the bathroom. They came out clean, but with their clothes still wet and plastered to their bodies. As the boys slipped past them they all reddened a little when they realized that both girls were wearing white shirts. 

Once the door shut both girls started laughing as they flopped down onto Marble's bed. Marble grabbed one of Spec's books and started reading out loud, to pass the time. The boys came out one by one and sat down on beds and the floor to listen. 

Skittery came out and jumped up onto his bed, "So what're we reading?" 

She glared at him for interrupting her, "A book." 

Frack walked out of the bathroom, "It any good?" 

His sister gave him a dirty look, "Why don't cha shut up an' listen." 

Once Marble was satisfied that no one else was going to talk she reopened the book. After a while Bumlets, Boots, Snipeshooter, and Twitch got bored and went back to the park but everyone else was too absorbed in the story to notice. 

It was getting dark outside when they heard an explosion. Everyone jumped up and rushed to the window. The sky lit up and there was another huge crash, "Fireworks!" 

The newsies ran back to Central Park. People were laying on blankets all over the ground and sitting up in trees. They made their way back to the pond where they had been earlier. The newsies were all back and spread out on the ground staring at the sky. The group had all settled down on the grass when the realized that Marble wasn't with them. They took a minute to decide that she had probably stayed at the house to watch from the roof. 

It was getting late when David and Les joined the newsies. Almost instantly Les started complaining to Jack about the noise and the heat and the crowd and everything else he could think of. He had been running around all day and was too tired to do anything but whine. After about ten seconds of his whimpering Jack had had enough and sent him to the lodging house to go to sleep. 

"Jack, are you sure it's a good idea to send my little brother there by himself?" 

"It'saright, it ain't dat far an' Marbles dere so's he won't be alone." 

Dave wasn't completely satisfied but this was better then listening to Les complain for another couple of hours. 

* * * 

When Les got to the lodging house he started looking around for someone to talk to. He didn't think that Jack would send him here all by himself but the only one he could find was Ashes. He was up in the bunkroom when he noticed the window to the fire escape was open. He went out side and climbed onto the roof. A firework went off as he got to the roof and he was momentarily blinded, but when his vision cleared he saw Marble sitting with her feet hanging off of the roof. Her head was tilted back and she was staring at the sky, singing to herself. 

"I love the light I love the changing season, 

I love without much thought to reason 

I'd give it all if I could make you see 

I love the man you were meant to be. 

I love the man you are in me 

I love the man who waits beside you 

I love the man who hides behind you 

I love the shadow though he disappears 

I love the afterglow reflected through the tears. 

I love the shadow in my tears. 

Ooohhhh I love the dreams you can't remember, 

Ooohhhh lost in the early waking hours, 

I love the season of forever 

I live without the light of laughter. 

I live without an ever after 

I'd give it all if I could make you see 

I love the man you were meant to be. 

I love the man you are in me" 

Les watched her sit there quietly for a while then he said, "You sing really pretty, you should do it more." 

Marble jumped up and spun around when he spoke. She had a strange look on her face and her eyes were shining. Les gasped when he saw her and she bolted past him down the fire escape. 

* * * 

"Jack. Jack!" Les had finally found Jack in the huge crowd of boys by the pond. 

"Heya Les. Whacha doin' heah? I's thought yous went ta da lodgin' house." 

"I did, but I came back." 

"I's can see dat, why?" 

"I'm looking for Marble." 

Dave joined them, "Wasn't she at the house?" 

"Yeah." 

"Well den why a yous heah?" 

"She left." 

"Why?" 

"I don't know." 

"Why don't you tell us what happened." 

"Well, I got there and there was nobody around." 

"Wait, didn't you say she was there?" 

"Yea, I'm gettin' ta that. Ya see she was up on the roof so I couldn't find her at first but then I noticed the window." 

"What about da window?" 

"It was open. So anyway I went up there and she was up on the roof." 

"Ya tol' us dat alroidy." 

"Yeah Les, what was she doing on the roof?" 

"Singin'." 

"What!" Spot seemed materialize right out of the crowd next to them. 

"She was singin'." 

"Yous sure?" 

"Yes." 

"What was she singin'?" 

"Why does dat mattah?" 

"It jist does Jacky-boy," he turned back to Les, "Now what was she singin'?" 

"I dunno." 

"What were da woids?" 

"Um I dunno, something about being in love I guess." 

"Thanks kid." Spot ran out of the park looking excited and anxious. 

"Maybe someone should follow him and find out what's going on." 

"Good idea Davey, I'll go an' find someun' ta do it." 

Jack started pushing his way through the crowd, "Oh! Jack wait, Jack!" 

He turned back around, "Yea Les?" 

"She was cryin'." 

"She was WHAT!?" 


	8. On the Bridge

Spot stood on the Brooklyn Bridge watching Marble. She had her back turned to him and her silhouette stood out against the fading light of the sky. He couldn't see any of her features, but her stance, her posture, everything about her was familiar to him and he knew it was her. 

Now she was standing at the railing with a handful of rocks, trying to skip them. They both knew that it was too high for it to ever work, but when Marble needed to think she would come to the bridge and throw stones. 

Spot watched as she picked one out and carefully rubbed all of the dirt off. She turned it over in her hands for a while, examining every crack and bump on it's surface then threw it in a long smooth arc. It flew perfectly for a distance then fell sharply into the water. Marble just stared at the spot where the stone went under for a minute then she started searching for a new rock. 

When she found another one and got ready to throw it Spot picked up a broken piece of cobblestone. Once the rock left her hand Spot tossed his and knocked it out of the air. She didn't even blink, she just stared at the spot where the two rocks had collided with her head slightly cocked. 

She started shuffling through the stones in her hand again, "That one might have skipped ya know." 

Spot smiled and walked over to her, "Nah, it was too big." 

"Ya never know." 

Spot laughed and put his hand on the railing, leaning over so he could see her face, "I's been talkin' ta me boidies again an' dey say you was singin' wit dem not too long ago." 

"Well then your 'boidies' are wrong 'cause I don't sing." 

He sighed, "You ain't gonna give it up are ya? What did I evah do ta yous?" 

"You figure it out." 

"God, Marble, why don't ya jist tell me what ya want from me. I's said I was sorry." Spot sounded angry, but he was just frustrated because even after three years, and many apologies, she still held her secret grudge against him. 

Marble just shrugged her shoulders and threw the next stone. Spot let out an irritated sigh and pushed himself back so he could put his other hand on the rail, on her other side. Even though she was now closed in by his arms Marble still wouldn't look at him. He leaned in close and took a deep breath, distracted by her warmth and the smell of her hair. 

"Marble." Spot said her name gently and she slowly turned around. She leaned back against the railing and just looked at him. Spot brought his head down so they were only inches apart and their eyes were level. They stayed like that for a few long seconds then Spot closed his arms completely around her. 

"Spot, what are you doing?" Her voice trembled slightly. 

He answered in a hoarse whisper, "I don't know." 

He leaned forward and kissed her. It was so light that she wouldn't have felt it if all of her nerves hadn't been burning with longing. Spot tightened his arms and pulled her body closer to his. 

He wanted to stay like that forever, but one thought crossed his mind, She's gonna kill me. 

* * * 

Of all the things Marble thought would never happen this was the one she wanted the most. She knew he had a reputation for going after every girl he saw, but he had never shown the slightest bit of interest in her. Not this kind of interest at least. 

Being held so close made her feel safe, the rest of the world didn't matter. She felt herself leaning into him to keep herself up. All sorts of feelings were running through her, shock, confusion, joy and maybe a little bit of anger at being grabbed without warning. But that faded quickly. Spot had kissed plenty of girls before and he was very good at it. Marble finally stopped thinking about it and gave into the emotions that flooded through her. 

* * * 

Spot was panicking. He had kissed uncountable girls before but never anyone who he felt like this about, and never anyone who might throw him off of a bridge once the shock wore off. He had also never met anyone who kissed like Marble. It was amazing, he could hardly think straight and he didn't want to. His legs were turning to jelly. But he remembered the possible threat to his life and started pulling back from her sweet lips so he could get a running start if she became homicidal. 

* * * 

Marble had decided to stay there forever when she felt Spot's strong arms start to loosen and his lips began pulling away. She didn't want him to leave and reacted without thinking. Her hand slipped around behind his neck and pulled his mouth roughly back down to hers. He resisted for a second, but once his mouth gave in to hers she parted her lips slightly and licked his. 

* * * 

At first Spot had tried to get away when he felt her hand on his neck, but when he realized that she was pulling him back to her he gladly let her. He was relieved that she wasn't mad and he even thought that she might return his feelings as much as she was his kiss. That and a thousand other things ran through his head until he felt her lips part. Once her tongue slipped into his mouth his mind went blank and instinct took over. 

* * * 

Spot and Marble's hands were wandering slowly across each other's bodies as they let their kiss deepen. When Marble pulled her head away for an instant to catch her breath Spot moved down to her neck, exploring with his lips and tongue. She let her head lull back and a small whimper escaped her throat. That little sound turned into a throaty moan when Spot's mouth moved to the base of her neck. Marble's body started trembling and her mind completely fogged over. Out of the corner of her eye she saw two figures at the end of the bridge that looked vaguely familiar. Their identities didn't register until Spot's kisses moved away from her neck. It was Kid Blink and Mush. 

* * * 

Jack had sent the two newsies to follow Spot. They knew that he was probably with Marble or he was looking for her. They also knew that she had been crying. They weren't sure exactly what they would see when they found them, but they were taken completely by surprise. They stood there in complete shock for a while, just staring at the pair on the bridge. 

* * * 

"Spot we have an audience." Marble's voice was soft and breathy and it took Spot a few seconds to understand individual words. When it finally clicked his head whipped up to find out who to kill. 

Before he even found them Marble had dragged his mouth back to hers whispering, "I'll take care of it." 

He was perfectly content to forget about it and concentrate on her once their lips came back together. He felt her hands slowly migrate down to his hips. One hand closed around his slingshot and pulled it out of his belt loop. The other slid into the pocket where he kept all of his shooters. Her hand stayed in there too long and moved around too much to be just going after marbles. Spot began to squirm and he felt laughter bubbling up in her throat as she removed her hand. 

She pulled her mouth away from his so she could see and Spot's mouth went back to her neck. Behind his back he could feel her loading the slingshot and firing. Off to one side he heard surprised yelps of pain followed by the sound of running feet. 

After a minute Marble sighed and pushed Spot away, "They're going to go get Jack." 


	9. Muggings, Bloody Noses and Pickpockets

Jack was pissed. First he meets this girl that Spot says to watch out for because she is like his sister, wonderful. Then Spot tells him this sob story about knowing Marble forever and being in love with her and not knowing what to do about it, all well and good. Then he hears that Spot has been trying to stay away from her so he won't do anything stupid, great. Now she has been crying and Spot went to find her about some song, so Jack sent someone after him to find out what is going on, kinda normalish. The boys he sent come running back to tell him that Spot and Marble had been making out in the middle of the Brooklyn Bridge and they had been chased off with a slingshot, not good. In fact, very bad. 

Jack stormed across the bridge and found them in the middle. They weren't doing anything, not even talking. They were just leaning against the railing next to each other, waiting. Seeing them standing there acting so innocent and calm made Jack's temper flare. 

As soon as he was close enough to be heard he started yelling, "What da hell do ya think ya doing Spot? What's wrong wit ya? Foist ya tell me dat she's like ya sista den I's heah yous kissin' her. What da hell's goin' on wit ya," he turned to Marble, "And you." 

Jack was cut off abruptly when her fist connected with his face. He collapsed to the ground, holding his nose to try and stop the bleeding. 

"Jesus Christ Jack, you can't just come here and start yelling at us when you have no idea what's going on. And what right do you have to get angry about anything either of us do anyway?" 

Jack was staring at her over his hands with a shocked and hurt look in his eyes. Marble saw how badly he was bleeding and sank to her knees in front of him with a sympathetic laugh. 

"Oh Jack, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hit you that hard." She pulled a handkerchief out of her pocket and tilted his head with it, to stop the bleeding, "I know that you're just trying to look out for us but you can't just start yelling like that." 

"Yea, well I's know dat now." Spot was standing back a little bit, snickering. 

"You shut up Spot, it's your fault I hit him." 

"MY FAULT! How's dis my fault?" 

"You know exactly what you did." 

"No I's don...... nevah mind." Marble winked at Jack and tried to hold back laughter. 

"Hey you kids, what's going on here?" 

The three of them looked up to see a pair of policemen coming towards them. Marble was on her feet in an instant and she bolted before Jack could find out what was going on. Spot also went into action right away. 

"Nothin's happenin' me friend heah jist fell an' hoit 'im self, but he'll be alroight." 

"Who was that other boy?" 

"Othah boy, sir? Dere was no othah boy heah. Jist da two a us." 

Jack gave Spot a confused look but kept his mouth shut. He knew he would get an explanation later. 

Spot helped him to his feet and told the officers, "We'll jist be on out way now sir, good nite." 

When they were out of earshot Jack asked, "What's goin' on?" 

"What da ya mean?" 

"Don't play stupid wit me, why'd she run like dat?" 

Spot looked at Jack out of the corner of his eye and gave in after a minute, "Dat's da reason she always leaves, da bulls is afta her." 

"Why?" 

"She's a thief Jack, a pickpocket."   
  


*** 

"Lemme git dis straight, dat sweet goil's been stealin' stuff since afore yous met 'er an' now afta all dese years da police know what she looks like?" 

"Yea, but I don't know who yous callin' sweet." Spot gestured to Jack's nose, which had just stopped bleeding. 

Jack shrugged and went on, "Yous also tellin' me dat somewheres in da city dere is a cellah full a da stuff she stole an' only da two a you know where?" 

"Yea, ya see it ain't safe ta sell da stuff roight away else somebody might 'member it bein' stolen so's she's gotta keep it fa a while." 

"I's can't believe dis, how come neitha a ya said nothin'?" 

Spot just looked at Jack like he was an idiot until he shrugged uncomfortably, "Well I's still gotta talk ta her 'bout dis." 

"Don't botha, she's jist gonna lie about it, jist like everythin' else." 

"What'd ya mean?" 

"She lies 'bout her past all da time, even I's don't know dat much." 

Spot and Jack went into the Brooklyn house and when they opened the door to Spot's room Marble jumped up from the bed, "Heya Spot, you didn't get into any trouble did ya?" 

"Naw, I's jist said dat Jacky-boy tripped an' yous didn't exist." 

"Good, how's the nose Jack?" 

"It ain't bleedin' no more." Jack's voice was cold and abrupt. He didn't know how to act now that he knew that little bit about her past. The fact that there was probably much more than that and if he asked he would be lied to made him upset, he was used to being able to trust his newsies. 

"Ya knows what Spot, I's gonna go back ta Manhattan now, I'll see ya latah." 

"Yeah, latah Cowboy." 

Once Jack closed the door Marble turned to Spot, "He's mad at me, isn't he." 

It wasn't really a question but he still nodded, "Oh man, I'd better go talk to him." 

"Marble wait." she looked at him, "I'm sorry fa, you know, on da bridge." 

She looked a little hurt when she asked, "Did it mean anything to you or was it just one of those 'caught up in the moment, never gonna happen again' dealys?" When he didn't say anything she turned to open the door. 

Spot panicked when he saw her leaving so he grabbed her arm and spun her around. He kissed her deeply so she would know that he meant it. It wasn't as intense as the one on the bridge but they were both out of breath when they parted. 

Marble smiled, "Well, that's nice to know, but I still have to catch Jack." 

She gave him one more quick kiss then ran out the door.   
  


***   
  


Jack was half way to the lodging house when a pair of hands reached out of an alley and dragged him in. He looked directly into the sneering face of Oscar Delaney and knew that the person holding his arms behind his back must be Morris. They must have been getting smarter because they didn't waste anytime talking, they just got straight to work.   
  


***   
  


Marble was just about to call out to Jack when she saw him pulled into a dark alley. She could hear the sound of flesh meeting flesh and grunts of pain as she started running. She got there just in time to see Oscar bloody Jack's nose again. Marble grabbed him and slammed him into the wall. With one solid blow to the face he was down and she moved onto his brother. Morris let go of Jack, who collapsed to the ground, and went to help Oscar. He came at Marble but she ducked under his swing and kicked him in the crotch. When he doubled over in pain she brought her elbow down into the center of his back, knocking him to the ground. One solid kick in the stomach guaranteed that he would stay there for a while. 

Marble went to help Jack to him feet as he wiped the blood off of his face with a sleeve, "Dis jist ain't me day fa keepin' me blood in, is it." 

Marble laughed shakily and slung his arm over her shoulder to help him walk. He was a little bit off balance so he leaned heavily on her as they left the alley. They headed toward the lodging house as quickly as they could go, incase the Delancys came back for another round. 

After a few minutes Marble decided to try talking to Jack, "So, are you mad at me for abandoning you earlier?" 

He gave her a confused look, "You know, on the bridge, when the cops came." 

"Oh, naw, I ain't mad 'bout dat an' anyway yous jist saved me butt so's I guess I ain't mad at all." 

"Great, but what were you mad about then?" 

"Spot tol' me 'bout yous bein' a pickpocket an' lyin' 'bout your past an' all dat stuff." 

"Oh like you've never lied or stolen anything." 

"Dat's da thing, it reminded me a me too much." 

"Well Jacky-boy we's all gotta survive." 

She sounded so much like Spot that he couldn't help staring at her, "Yea, I guess dat's roight." 

Marble smiled and he got the feeling that she was laughing at him, "What?" 

"Nothin, It's just, nothin'." 

He shook his head and sighed, "Goils." 

They walked in silence for a while but Jack finally asked, "So what's goin' on wit you an' Spot?" 

Marble jumped when he spoke and Jack saw a couple of different emotions run across her face. Shock, confusion, joy, sorrow and a few others things he couldn't identify. 

"I'm not really sure, I'm gonna hafta talk ta 'im soon." 

"Jist some friendly advice, you an Spot is best friends so what evah ya do don't mess dat up. Da two a you'll be fine." 

They got to the lodging house and as Marble was opening the door Ashes landed on her shoulder, "Where've you been kitty," she scratched him under the chin, "you missed all the fun." 

When the got inside Mush, Blink and Dave were there instantly to help Jack. 

"What happened? Who did dis?" Blink pulled up a chair so he could sit and Mush left to get Kloppman. 

"Da Delancys jumped me, guess I's didn't smell dem comin'." Dave looked at Marble and Jack answered the question before he asked, "She saw dem grab me an' became me knight in shinin' armor." 

Jack batted his eyelashes at her and Marble just rolled her eyes and shook her head. 

Kloppman and Mush came back with ice and a clean cloth. Jack explained what happened again while holding an icepack to his eye. 

"So wheres da oder boys at?" 

"Deys still in da park celebratin'." Kloppman stopped the bleeding from Jack's nose for the second time that night. 

Once she was sure that Jack was alright Marble grabbed Blink and Mush and dragged them across the room, "Um, I kinda want to say I'm sorry for, you know, the slingshot." 

Mush rubbed a bump on his head, "It's alroight, but we's was wonderin' what you was doin' up dere." 

"Yea, whats goin' on wit you an' Spot?" 

Marble smiled, "Nonya business." 


	10. He's a What?

Dutchy woke Marble the next morning and they left as Kloppman was heading upstairs to get the others, just like usual. They were at the Distribution Center waiting for their papers when the other newsies got there, just like usual. They stopped to see Dutchy's girl, Angela, and have breakfast, just like usual. But, during the day Marble didn't even sell half of her papers and it didn't look like she was going to. Dutchy had been trying to question her all day but she was off in her own world and didn't notice him. 

Eventually he took the papers out of her hands, "I'll sell dese fa ya, jist go take care whatevahs buggin' ya." 

Marble gave him a beautifical smile and a hug then ran off. He just shook his head and watched her disappear into the crowd. Ashes tried to catch her but she was going too fast so he just gave up and went back to Dutchy. 

Marble had wanted to go see Spot all day long but she didn't want to look desperate and go running back to him first thing in the morning. Waiting was driving her crazy. Now that she had been handed the chance to go see him Marble forgot all about appearance and sprinted.   
  


***   
  


Spot hadn't slept all night but he was making up for it now. He wasn't actually sleeping but he was dead to the world around him. It was afternoon and he was still at the Distribution Center, without papers. He just couldn't stop thinking about Marble. She had probably thought about it and would hate him for what happened last night. He knew that if he was alone with her too long he would ruin everything and he probably just had. Spot mentally kicked himself (repeatedly) for being an idiot and taking advantage of Marble. 

"Spot, Spot! Wouldja snap outa it." He blinked a few times and looked at Dublin, who had just walked by and seen Spot still there. 

"Wha?" 

"Why are you still here?" 

"I's gonna buy papes." 

"The place is closed, it's after noon." 

"Oh, yeah." Spot started to walk off in his own world again but Dublin followed him. 

"Hey, what's going on, this ain't like ya Spot. What happened yesterday?" 

"I's did sumthin' stupid, really stupid." 

Dublin sighed in irritation when Spot's eyes glazed over again. He decided to risk a massive beating and grabbed his shoulders. 

The Brooklyn leader instantly snapped out of it, "What!" 

"Spot you've been freaking everybody out all day. Either quit this crap or go take care of it, just stop." 

Spot glared at him for a minute then shook himself free, "I'll be back latah." 

He took off walking but once he rounded the corner he broke into a run. He didn't care if she hated him now, he just had to see her.   
  


***   
  


Marble and Spot were crossing the Brooklyn Bridge at the same time and actually passed each other before they realized it. They turned at the same time and saw each other. 

"Spot!" Marble stepped towards him then suddenly blushed and covered her eyes with her hands. She parted her fingers and looked at Spot with her bright green eye. His familiar smirk was now a few feet closer. 

"Yous came runnin' all da way ta Brooklyn jist ta see liddle ol' me, I's flattahed." 

"Well, um, I... Hey, Wait a minute! You never sell on the bridge, and you don't even have papes." She smacked him in the chest, "You were coming to see me you jerk. God, you're just tryin' ta make me feel stupid." 

Spot smiled and stepped forward so she had to look up at him, "An' it woiked too." 

She stared into his eyes with a pouty look on her face. Spot started getting uncomfortable in the drawn out silence. Once he started shuffling his feet and looking around Marble grinned and bounced up, kissing him quickly on the lips. 

Spot smiled with relief and pulled her into a tight hug, "I's was scared ya might be mad." 

"I've got the mighty Spot Conlon scared with just one little kiss?" 

"Liddle kiss! If ya call last night a liddle kiss I'd hate ta see big fa yous." He looked down at her again, "Den again." 

Marble wrapped her arm around his waist and started walking, "Mebbe if ya real good I'll show you someday." 

He laughed and let her lead him off.   
  


***   
  


Marble and Spot were crossing the docks together, "Ya know dis is kinda strange." 

"What?" 

"We's actin' like we've been goin' togetha' fa yea's but our foist kiss was jist last night. I ain't nevah done dis so fast wit a goil." He cracked his knuckles and smirked, "I must be bettah den I thought." 

Marble rolled her eyes then decided to ignore the last comment "Well," She jumped up onto a long pile of crates, leaving Spot to follow her along on the ground, "Look at this way, we've known each other for over ten years, right?" 

"Roight." Marble started walking along the top of the pile jumping from crate to crate, almost six feet off of the ground while Spot got ready to catch her when she fell. 

"And in that time we've gone everywhere and done almost everything together. Just last night we admitted that we liked each other more than friends for most of that time. So," She reached the end of the crates but the ground was flooded under them, "We've technically been going out for years and only just realized it now. We really aren't going very fast, we're just making up for lost time." 

Instead of going back and climbing down Marble jumped off of the crates and into to the puddle, splashing it everywhere. She turned, still dry, to a saturated Spot, "Doesn't that make you feel better?" 

He glared at her and wiped his dripping hair back from his face. Marble grinned and took off running. Spot instantly started chasing her through the crowded docks. Marble was just ahead of him but he could never quite catch her. Finally she ran onto the abandoned pier by the lodging house. She stopped in the middle and turned around, acting surprised, "Oh, hi Scrawny. Whatcha doin' here?" 

"Nothin' really, jist throwin' somebody off a da dock." 

Marble started walking backwards as he came towards her, "And who might that be?" She was as far back as she could go. 

"Hows about you." Spot lunged forward on the last word and Marble tried flipping him over her shoulder but he was expecting it. At the last second Spot dropped down and grabbed her around the legs, tossing her into the water. 

Marble's head popped up and she glared at Spot as she swam towards the ladder. Spot walked along after her, laughing. When he got to the ladder he offered his hand to her and realized it was a mistake when she grinned up at him. Before he could move her hand shot out and yanked him into the frigid water. 

Marble climbed up the ladder laughing, "I can't believe you fell for that." 

"Yea, well I forgot dat yous don't play fair." Spot gave her an evil glare and she laughed at him. Marble grabbed one of the posts on the pier and offered her hand to help him up. They both started ringing out their clothes as they walked off of the dock. 

"Ya know, Spot, you can't blame me that you're stupid." His head jerked up and he would have been mad but she kissed him before he could, "But, hey your cute, so I'll keep ya." 

Spot rolled his eyes and laughed, "Yous actin' like we's still only jist friends." 

"We are, but now I can kiss you and if I catch you with another girl I get to kill both of you." 

"Ten years an' I still can't figuah out how ya come up wit some a dis stuff." 

"Yous jist slow I guess." Spot playfully shoved her just as a cold wind came in off of the water. 

Marble gasped, "Maybe we should get some dry clothes." 

Spot didn't answer, they just both started running towards the lodging house. The two soaked newsies slipped into Spot's room, getting strange looks from the boys in the bunk room. 

Spot went to the trunk at the foot of his bed and pulled out clothes for both of them. When he looked up Marble was absently fiddling with the buttons on her shirt. 

"Um, mebbe I's should leave so's you can have some privacy." 

She smiled as he got even more uncomfortable, she loved doing things like this to him, "It'saright, just turn around and we can both change." 

"Yea, okay." They turned away from each other and Spot quickly started changing his clothes. He froze only half finished when he heard her wet shirt hit the floor. 

"Git yaself togetha Conlon, it's jist a goil, jist Marble, ain't nothin' gonna happen." He just stood there with his shirt off and his eyes wide listening to her change her clothes, the sound of cloth against skin and the quiet rustling of her doing up the buttons. 

When she was done she asked, "Spot, how many girls have you had in here?" 

"I dunno, lotsa goils 'ave been in heah." 

"That's not what I ment. How many girls have you HAD in here?" 

Spot realized what she was asking and turned to stare at her, she was facing him with a very serious expression on her face. Spot knew if he lied that she would be able to tell so he sighed and muttered something. 

"What was that?" Spot said it again a little bit louder. 

"You're kidding! I don't believe it." She started laughing, "The mighty Spot Conlon is a ..... Oh my God, I'm telling everyone!" 

Marble ran to the door and yanked it open to a room full of newsies, "You guys won't believe it, Spot's a Vi.." 

A hand clamped over her mouth but she pulled it away, "He's a.." The hand came back and another one slid around her waist and dragged her back into the room. The door slammed shut and the boys in the bunkroom were left completely confused. After a minute the boys went back to what they had been doing except for a small group who slipped out the door. 

Spot threw Marble down on the bed, "Don't ya dare tell nobody. I's got a reputation ta keep up." 

She just lay there, in a helpless puddle oozing laughter, "I can't believe it, this is the funniest thing I've ever heard." 

When she had a little control over herself again she reassured Spot, "Your secret's safe with me but I am going to make fun of you every chance I get." 

Spot leaned over her and put a hand on either side of her head, "Yous know dat dis kinda thing is real easy ta fix." 

He kissed her deeply and her arms slid around his neck. When he pulled away Marble smiled up at him. 

"Not a chance." she tweaked his nose and slid out from under him and onto the floor. 

Spot sat on the bed where she had been, "So, um, are you?" 

"What?" 

"Yous know." 

"Oh, that. It's none of your business." 

"None a me business! Whada ya mean none a me business? I had ta tell yous." 

"No you didn't, I just asked and you said." 

"Dat ain't fair. Yous me goil an' you hafta tell me dis stuff." 

"No I don't!, and if you think me being your girl makes it your right to know anything else about me then maybe I don't wanna be your girl." Marble stalked out of the room and slammed the door behind her. 

Spot fell back on his bed and smacked himself on the forehead, "Stupid. Whys ya always gotta make her lose her tempah. Yous know bettah den ta try ta make her tell ya stuff she don't want 'cha ta know. But she shoulda tol' me, it ain't that bigga deal if she is or ain't." 

Spot sighed and sat up, "I'd bettah go afta her." He grabbed a shirt and ran out the door. 


	11. Secrets

Marble felt bad about what she had said to Spot but she couldn't tell him the truth. She knew that he would over react if he knew what had happened and it would hurt him to know that he couldn't do anything about it. Marble's thoughts were cut off when someone grabbed her and dragged he into an alley. 

She broke free and spun to see the Delancys, "Jeez, what is it with you two and muggings in alleys?" 

"Dis ain't no muggin' liddle goil." She turned back around to see Beck and a bunch of his friends, "Ya see, dis heah is revenge." 

She moved back when she saw the brass knuckles and walked right into the Delancy's waiting arms. Beck slowly moved up to her until he was only inches away. He reached forward and grabbed her chin, forcing her to look at him. Marble stared at him with pure hate in her eyes. 

"You knows goily, yous kinda poitty. In fact a soakin' ain't all yous gonna git tonite."   
  


***   
  


Spot was about to give up on finding Marble. She couldn't be that far ahead of him, she must have turned somewhere. He was turning back when he heard a scream. Spot whipped around the echo in the empty street kept him from being able to tell where it had come from. Suddenly he saw a grey streak bolt into an alley down the street then heard a yelp of pain and swearing. 

Spot was there in an instant with his cane ready. He saw the Delancys holding Marble still while three other boys stood in a half circle around them. Beck was trying to dislodge Ashes from his neck where the cat was clawing and biting. 

When the boys saw Spot they panicked and tried to run but the only way out was past him. He brought the cane up smacking one boy in the face then jerked it down and to his other side, hitting another in the groin. The boy doubled over and Spot kicked him into the wall. The last one took a swing at Spot while he was busy but he saw it coming and grabbed the boy's wrist, dragging him over his shoulder and into the wall. 

Beck finally got Ashes off and saw all of his boys down and a very angry Spot, "Dis ain't what it looks like Spot, jist let me explain." 

Spot lunged forward with his cane and knocked Beck's legs out from under him. He fell and his head rebounded off of the pavement. There was a small pool of blood forming but he was still conscience. 

Sometime during the fight the Delancys had disappeared up a fire escape, leaving Marble crumpled up on the ground. Spot went to her after a solid kick to Beck's face. 

Spot gently touched her, "Marble yous alroight?" 

She jerked back with a panicked look in her eyes, "Marble it's jist me, Marble?" When she didn't respond he tried something else, "Maggie it's me, Ben" 

When she heard her name Marble collapsed into his arms sobbing. Spot tried to comfort her as he picked her up. He gently cradled her as he walked back to the way he had come. 

At the mouth of the alley Ashes joined him, "I wish yous could talk an' tell me what happened."   
  


***   
  


Marble had finally stopped crying but now she wouldn't let anyone touch her. Spot was so worried that he sent someone for Jack. He didn't know how that would help but he was getting desperate. 

She was laying on his bed curled up in a little ball, staring off into space. Ashes had climbed onto the bed earlier and was sitting protectively by her head. If Spot tried to get close she would flinch back and the cat would hiss, so now he was sitting across the room watching them. 

Spot jumped out of his seat when the door opened but instead of Jack it was Dutchy and his girlfriend. 

Frick also came in, "I's couldn't find da Cowboy but I ran inta dese two. Mebbe dey can help." 

Dutchy took a step towards the bed but Ashes warned him off with his claws. 

"What happened to 'er?" 

"I ain't sure. A coupla me boys grabbed 'er in an alley but I's don't t'ink dey did nothin' afore I got dere. She's been all scared an' won't let nobody near 'er since I's got 'er back heah." 

Angela whispered something to Frick, who nodded and turned to Spot, "Da two a yous git outa heah, dis is goil business." 

Spot started to protest but she gave him an angry glare and shoved him out the door, "If she does somthin' I'll tell ya." 

The door shut behind him and he faced a room full of anxious newsies who were waiting for an improvement. When they saw tho look on Spot's face they decided not to question him. 

It was late and the boys had to sell the next day so all of the lights on one side of the room were put out so they could sleep. Only Frack, Dublin, Twitch, Dutchy and Spot were still awake when Jack came. Race, Blink and Crutchy were with him, "I's couldn't make 'em stay. What happened?" 

Spot stopped pacing for a second and gave him a lost and hopeless look. Dublin explained what they knew to Jack and the others. 

The door opened once he finished and Angela walked out, "She's sleeping now so don't worry. We need to talk to you Spot." Frick came out and quietly shut the door behind her. 

The girls lead Spot to the dark side of the room where nobody could hear them. When they started talking a look of shock came over his face but it quickly turned to anger. 

"I'm gonna..." Frick's hand clamped over his mouth to stop him from yelling. She gestured to the sleeping boys around and hissed something into his ear. The angry look on his face faded into worry and he sank onto the foot on a bed. Angela sat next to him and put an arm around his shoulders and Frick knelt on the floor in front of him. Angela said something that made him look at her hopefully then she smiled at him and stood up to go. 

Dutchy wrapped his arms around her, "What's goin' on?" 

"I'll tell you outside." The group, including the boys from Brooklyn, left the building. A minute later Twitch came back in and laid down on his bunk, curling up into a ball and pulling the covers over his head. He was followed a little while later by Dublin, Frack, Race and Blink. The two Manhattan boys had decided to stay while Jack and Crutchy went to tell the others what was happening. Dutchy was walking Angela home then coming back for the night. All of the newsies found empty bunks, they didn't want to talk but they couldn't sleep. Everyone's attention kept wandering back to the door on the far side of the room. In there was one of their best friends, hurt, and there was nothing they could do to help. Seeing her broken down like that made them all uncomfortable but no one was surprised she had reacted like that. Being raped, beaten and left for dead in an alley as a child was enough to emotionally damage anyone.   
  


***   
  


Jack leaned back against the brick wall and took a long drag from his cigarette before handing it to Kid Blink. He nodded to Dublin in the alley across the street but he shook his head back. Race slipped down from the fire escape behind Jack. He pointed down the street to Boots, Specs and Spot, who were rolling dice on the sidewalk. They looked up and shook their heads. People were just starting to come out onto the street and beginning their mornings. Skittery and Dutchy came walking down the street together, passing Snipeshooter where he was poking around in the gutter, and sat down in front of a store just as the owner opened the door. Frick and Frack were sitting on a pile of barrels across the street sharing a piece of bread and Jake was sitting beneath them, sleeping. 

The sun was coming up at the end of the street, flooding everything in a cheery golden light. The brick and cobblestones were heating up in the harsh sunlight. Mush came down the street and touched Blink's arm. They both crossed over to sit on a stack of boxes with Dublin. Racetrack took Blink's place next to Jack and absently shuffled a deck of cards. Snitch and Bumlets were having a mock sword fight with sticks on the corner while Pie Eater and Swifty were making a sword for Itey. They stopped for minute when a boy from Brooklyn looked down on them over the edge of a roof. He waved and disappeared again after signaling to someone down the street. Twitch came running around a corner and down the street until he had passed everyone then he turned and whistled. Everyone stopped what they were doing and watched the end of the road, more boys from Brooklyn materialized out of alleys and doorways. A pair of boys came walking around the corner on their way to work. The Delancys didn't notice a mob of angry newsies converging on them in the growing crowds until it was too late. 


	12. Goodbye Again

"Heya Marble." Frick spoke softly to wake her up, "Marble we took care a da Delancy scum fa ya an' Beck an' his friends skipped town last nite." 

Marble's eyes slowly opened. She smiled but didn't say anything. 

"Hey, hows ya feelin'?" 

Marble just shrugged, "Don't feel like talkin' huh? I's understand. Ya know dat Spot's real worried 'bout yous. Half da time 'es all scared an' worried, da oddah half 'es snappin' at everyone." 

Frick sighed exasperatedly, "You have no idea how hard it is to keep up this stupid accent all of the time." 

Marble almost laughed when Frick used her real voice. Her and Frack were from England and they faked New York accents to fit in, "Oh, well at least I can talk like a normal human being around you. I can't stand sounding like a moron just to be understood, it's irritating. I have to get out of here before I go insane." 

Marble laughed and patted her hand, "Poor baby." Her voice was just above a whisper. 

The door banged open when she laughed and Spot rushed in and was at her side in an instant, "Marble yous alroight? I was so worried, I thought yous might be hoit. We almost killed da Delancys but Beck skipped town an' I's don't t'ink 'es gonna come back. I'll kill 'im if 'e does." 

Spot sat down on the bed and Frick slipped out of the room, "Frick tol' us what happened when yous was liddle an'," an anguished look crossed his face, "An' I'm so sorry dat I wasn't dere ta protect ya." 

Marble smiled gently at him and took his hand, "It was five years ago and in Chicago, there was nothin' you coulda done. It's in the past and neither of us can change that. Last night I just panicked when they grabbed me, bad memories." 

She kissed him softly to calm him down. Spot was more upset about it then she was because she had had time to get over it but he had just found out. 

"Is dis why ya got mad an' didn't wanna say nothin' last nite?" She nodded. 

The door banged open again and a herd of newsboys crammed into the room, "Ya awake!" "How ya feelin'?" "Yous alroight?" "Didja heah 'bout da Delancys?" "I's hungry." Everyone in the room got quiet and stared at Specs, "Well I am." 

A barrage of hats hit him in the face and the nervous tension in the room evaporated into laughter. 

"Alroight boys, me liddle room's gittin' kinda crowded, outside, now!" 

Marble swung her feet off of the bed and he was suddenly by her side, "Yous don't hafta git up ya know." 

"Yea, but I wanna go outside for a while." 

"Alroight," Spot slid his arm around her waist to help her up. 

Marble looked at him when he left it there, "I'm not hurt, I can walk by myself." 

"I know but I's kinda like walkin' like dis." Marble laughed and kissed him because he was too shy to do it without encouragement. 

Outside there were boys from Manhattan and Brooklyn jumping off of the dock into the river. It was around noon so there weren't very many, but every boy who could afford to take the day off had. 

When they saw Marble they all crowded around again to make sure she was alright, "Hey hey hey, shuddup da goil came out ta git some fresh air, not ta be suffocated by all a yous. Back off." 

The boys quieted down and backed up a little bit, "Dats bettah," Marble said something that only Spot could hear then he started answering all of the questions that had been asked, "Marble's foine, jist shaken' up. She came out heah ta git some air. No she ain't movin' back heah. Yes, she's gonna be sellin' again. An' yea she's me goil now so's none a you git any ideas. Is dat all?" Marble said something else to him, "Oh, roight, Specs deres an apple on da thoid step up ta da bunkroom dat ain't goin' no wheres." 

"Thanks." Specs ran inside and most of the boys went back to playing, their questions answered. Some went to see if they could get their hands on some papers before it was too late to sell but most of them went back to enjoying their day off. 

A group of smaller boys was off to one side practicing with their slingshots. After one boy missed for the sixth time Spot cringed and went over to help him. 

"Heah, lemme show ya how ta do it." As Spot took the slingshot Marble joined him. When he was about to release the stone Marble blew in his ear. The rock went flying off to the side and hit the shutter to Spot's window. A large chunk of wood came flying off and clattered to the ground. Spot slowly turned towards Marble as she backed away, trying not to laugh. When she turned to run Spot lunged and caught her by the arm. 

She tried to jerk free but he picked her up and slung her over his shoulder, "Spot, Spot it was just a joke, put me down. Come on, this isn't funny." Marble was, of course, laughing so hard that she could barely talk, "Let me go, please just put me down." 

Spot was at the edge of the dock now so he decided to obey her. Marble hit the water with a huge splash and came up yelling. 

"Spot I'm gonna pound you inta the ground you stupid jerk." It was the first thing that she had said above a whisper since she woke up so Spot was very satisfied with himself, until he felt hands on his back. 

Suddenly he was in the water with Marble, "Never mind, I feel better now." 

Spot spun around and glared at Frick and Racetrack, who were trying to look innocent. Once they met his eyes they both broke down laughing. Frick stopped first and decided that it would be funnier with more people wet so she shoved Race. As he was falling he reached out and grabbed Frick's wrist dragging her in after him. The four of them started splashing each other and dunking everyone who jumped in by themselves. Eventually they all got cold an climbed out. 

Marble was muttering to herself all the way up the ladder, "I'm wet in Brooklyn. I'm always wet in Brooklyn. Why am I always wet in Brooklyn?" 

"I t'ink dats cause I's keep t'rowin' ya in da river." 

Marble pulled herself onto the dock and glared at Spot, "I've noticed. Is there any reason for that?" 

Spot grinned, "Cause whenevah yous wet ya change in me room an', I dunno, I guess dat I jist like havin' ya nekked in dere." 

She gave him a flat stare then shoved him back into the water and started muttering again, "Stupid horny boys always getting me wet in Brooklyn."   
  


***   
  


All of the boys had gone out to find dinner but Marble and Spot had decided to stay and eat some of the food at the house. It wasn't the best but it was quick and cheap and, as Spot said 'if it don't kill ya, well ya ain't eaten enough yet'. Marble had tried feeding Ashes but he had sniffed the food once and run out of the room hissing. 

Now they were sitting on Spot's bed talking, "Spot you and I both know that it would never work. First off, how would we get the mayor here to eat that stuff and wouldn't he notice that it was poisonous after one bite? And why would they turn over the city to you after he was dead anyway?" 

"I's famous and loved by everyun' so dey'd jist give it ta me as a gift." 

"Wouldn't they have given it to you by now if they liked you that much?" 

Spot sighed, "I guess ya roight, but it'd be fun ta try sometime." 

Marble just laughed and shook her head, "Maybe someday we will." She flopped back onto the bed, "So do you want your room back tonight?" 

"Um, well I's was kinda t'inkin' a jist sharin'." When Marble raised an eyebrow he hurried to explain, "Wit our clothes on an' all, jist in da same bed, like when we was liddle." 

Spot got uncomfortable and started blushing when she didn't say anything. Suddenly Marble laughed and kissed him. 

"You're cute when you blush, you should do it more often. It makes you look like a sweet innocent little virgin, Oh wait! You are." 

Spot glared and smacked her in the arm when she wouldn't stop laughing at him, "Shuddup, it ain't funny." 

"Yea, it is." 

"No, it ain't." 

"It is." 

"It ain't." 

"Is." 

"Ain't." 

"Is." 

"Ain't." 

"Is, end of conversation, I win." 

Spot stared at Marble for a second then flopped back next to her, "Yous real weird, ya know dat." 

"Yup." 

Spot kicked off his shoes and got comfortable while Marble stole his pillow. He just sighed and let her have it. After a minute it smacked him in the face. 

"It's no fun if you don't fight for it." 

"Sorry," Spot turned onto his side to look at Marble, "Maggie?" 

She looked at him when he used her name. He only did that if something was really important, "Yea?" 

"Nevah scare me like dat again, I don't wanna lose ya, evah. Yous me only family an' I ain't nothin' witout ya wit me." 

Marble smiled and hugged him tightly, "It's about time you figured that out." 

Spot stared at her when he realized that that was what she had been waiting to hear for three years, "Yea, 'bout time." He laid his head back on his pillow and Marble rested hers on his chest. Marble started humming but before he could even tell what song it was Spot interrupted her with kisses. 

By the time the first boys got back from dinner they were asleep in each other's arms.   
  


***   
  


Spot woke up with the feeling that something was missing but when he felt the warm spot on the bed beside him he knew that Marble was still there. He still had a good half hour before he had to get up so he just lay there contently. After a while the feeling of something wrong came back and he turned to ask Marble if she noticed it too. There was nothing there except for a sunbeam shining through the whole in his shutter. Spot shot out of bed and started looking for his clothes (Yes, they did). 

He was almost dressed when the door banged open, "Where are dey?" 

Frack was standing in the door way looking out of his mind. His fiery red hair was sticking out all over the place and his green eyes were shining with worry. 

"Dey? Who else ain't heah?" 

"Frick, I woke up and she wasn't dere. I know dat she's wit Marble 'cause all a da guys are still heah and she ain't nevah gone nowhere by 'erself witout tellin' me foist." 

Spot ran his fingers through his hair, "Well I's guess dey's gonna be back den." 

"Dat ain't good enough Conlon, she's me sistah an' she's gone. When dey gonna be back?" 

"I dunno," Spot was losing his temper and he would have hit Frack if something hadn't occurred to him, "Dey had ta go ta Manhattan ta git Marble's stuff if dere gonna be gone long, dey might still be dere."   
  


***   
  


The two newsies got to the Manhattan Lodging House just as Dutchy was walking out the door, "Hey, 'ave yous seen Marble an' Frick?" 

He looked up in surprise at the two boys running towards him, "Naw but Skittery did." 

"Thanks." The Brooklyn boys ran right past him and pounded up the stairs to the bunkroom. 

The noise woke a couple of boys up but they didn't care. Skittery was still asleep but he woke quickly when two bodies slammed into his bed. 

"Goddamn it, will you just let me sleep! Oh, what're you doin' here?" 

"We hoid dat yous seen Marble, where is she?" 

"I dunno." 

"But yous seen 'er, roight." 

"Yea, her and that redhead, whats 'er name?" 

"Frick." 

"Yea her. Dey got Marble's stuff an' left, but dat was almost a hour ago." 

Kloppman walked into the room just then, "What're yous two doin' heah?" 

"We's lookin' fa Marble." 

"An' Frick." 

"Marble an' Frick? Dose two left early dis mornin'. Marble paid extre rent an' tol' me ta save 'er bunk so's I guess dey gonna be back soonah or latah." The two boys collapsed onto Marble's bed, out of breath, as Kloppman went to wake everyone. 

The bunk shook so hard that Skittery fell off, "Foine I's gittin' up, I's gittin' up, jeez." 


	13. Happy Birthday

Spot woke up with a start. It was mid afternoon but he would have stayed in bed except there was yelling coming from the bunk room. He was out the door instantly to see Frick and Frack shouting at each other. Actually Frack was shouting at his sister and she was looking at him, not very impressed. 

"Yous been gone all summah den you come back lookin' completely diffent and wit a broken arm an' won't tell where ya been or what ya been doin'. What's goin' on." 

Spot hardly recognized Frick in new clothes with her hair cut just below her ears and her arm in a sling but it was her, "Where's Marble?" 

Frick looked at him for a second, "I ain't sure but she said fa yous ta meet 'er on da bridge tanite." It was now her turn to yell at her brother so neither of them noticed when Spot went for the door. 

Right before he left Frick called out to him, "Hey Spot, Happy Boithday." 

"Yea, t'anks." He slipped out the door and went to the Brooklyn Bridge.   
  


***   
  


It was getting dark and Marble wasn't there yet. Spot would have started worrying but Ashes had joined him almost an hour earlier. He was sitting on the curb petting the cat when something caught his eye. At first it was just a speck of light at the end of the bridge but it quickly became something more. To him it looked like an angel, with a fire glowing from it's chest and soft pale wings trailing behind as it glided towards him. He stood up, awestruck, and the feeling didn't fade when he saw that it was Marble. She was wearing a long grey trench coat over her normal clothes and she was carrying a white candle with her. When she got even closer he noticed that she was wearing shoes for the first time since he had known her and all of the holes in her clothes were patched up. She blew out the candle when she was only a few feet away. By the time Spot's eyes adjusted to the darkness again she was right in front of him. With her this close Spot could see that she had gotten taller over the summer. Her eyes were now almost even with his and he couldn't help pointing it out. 

"Yous biggah." Marble grinned and looked down. Spot's eyes followed hers to where the top few buttons of her shirt were open, revealing much more cleavage then he remembered. He squeezed his eyes shut in embarrassment and felt his face turning red. 

"I meant ya tallah." 

He opened his eyes again when he felt Marble slide her arms around his neck. She kissed him deeply, making up for lost time, and pulled back smiling. 

"You're really cute when you blush, ya know that?" 

"Yous tol' me dat afore." 

"As long as you know," Marble took him arm and started walking, "It's your Birthday." 

"I know." 

"Yeah, well so does everyone else. They're throwing you a party at Tibby's and I'm supposed to find a way to blindfold you before we get there. Telling you was the only way I could think of so you have to act surprised when we get there." 

"Yea, Alroight. Hey Marble, I's know dat ya don't like tellin' but where'd you an' Frick go?" 

"Nowhere really, I just needed to move around and Frick wanted ta come so we just left. Ya know I really missed you, more than I ever have before. I'm not sure if I ever wanna leave again unless you're with me." 

"Dats real good cause I don't want ya ta leave again eithah." 

They walked quietly until Ashes jumped onto Spot's shoulder, "Dustball yous ain't got no idea when it's a bad time do ya?" 

After a minute Spot gave up and started scratching the cat. "Sometimes I wish I nevah gave ya dis lil' beastie." 

"Well if you hadn't then you proally woulda kept him." 

Spot shuddered, "Don't even say dat. I woulda killed da dumb t'ing afta week." 

"Ya know Spot I think it's time ta blindfold you now. 

"WHAT! We ain't no where neah Tibby's yet." 

"I know but I like the thought of having you helpless and in my power." 

Spot tried protesting but she cut him off, "Oh just shuddup an' take it like a man." 

He closed his mouth and let her tie a strip of black cloth around his eyes, "There, now you're my puppet and you have to do what I tell you." 

"Dis ain't funny." 

"Not ta you it's not." Marble was laughing as she started to lead him. 

After a few minutes, three curbs, a pile of boxes and a lamp post Spot stopped, "Dis ain't woikin'. Eitha let me take dis t'ing off or find a bettah way ta do dis." 

"Oh, fine, you are so whiney." Marble wrapped both of his arms around her and put hers around his waist to guide him. They started walking side by side down the empty street. Eventually Marble got bored and started looking for a way to amuse herself. She couldn't walk Spot into things anymore because they were too close together so she had to find something else. She looked over at him, so innocent and helpless, and got an idea. 

Marble started laying gentle kisses on his neck and face and anywhere else she could reach. 

"Marble what're you doin'?" 

"Nothin'." 

Spot was getting very distracted and started trying to find her mouth with his. He tripped on a bump in the road and lost his balance. Marble laughed and steadied him. They stood there for a few minutes, Marble still teasing him with her lips and Spot still trying to capture them with his own. Finally Marble kissed him full on the lips but she pulled away before he could kiss back. 

"Marble dis ain't fair, quit teasin' me." 

"But it's so fun." Spot could feel her shaking against him with silent laughter. 

"How about we forget the whole 'surprise party' thing and do something else?" 

"Whada ya mean?" 

She laughed and her lips met his. This time she didn't break the kiss off. Instead she pushed him back until he hit a wall. He grunted in surprise and Marble pulled away, "Come 'ere." 

Spot heard a door open right next to them and she led him inside. 

It was warm and light was shining through his blindfold, "Where are we?" 

Marble didn't say anything, she just pulled him down a hallway, "Where are we goin?" 

"Nowhere." She stopped and kissed him, backing him into a wall again, "Just be quiet and follow me." 

Having her pressed up against him like that made all sorts of things run through his head, "Marble tell me dat yous ain't thinkin' what I think you're thinkin'." 

"Trust me," a door opened, "I'm not." 

She pushed him into a room and shut the door, "Happy Birthday." 

Spot yanked the blindfold just as a key turned in the lock. He tried opening the door then started pounding on it, "Marble dis ain't funny, lemme out. Come on, open da door." 

He didn't hear anything from the other side so he turned to look at the room. It wasn't very big but it was very bright. The walls and floor were covered in white tile, making the light hurt his eyes. It was empty except for something in the middle. He walked over and knelt down beside it, a tub. It was filled almost to the top with water, a faint steam was rising off of the surface. 

He ran his hand down the side of the tub, "Porcelain." 

Spot started laughing. He couldn't believe that Marble had done this or how easily he had been tricked. He had actually believed her when she said there was a surprise party at Tibby's. 

He quickly started undressing and stepped into the tub. It was perfect. He sank into the hot water until only his face was out. He stayed like that until the water started to cool down and his hands were all pruney. Finally he sat up and looked around again. There was a stool sitting on the other side of the tub with a towel, a washcloth, and a bar of soap. He quickly washed and got out of the water. When he went to get his clothes they weren't there but he did find new, clean clothes. Everything that had been in his pockets was sitting on top of them. Spot got dressed feeling a little uncomfortable. He didn't think Marble would have come in while he was bathing but she must have. He got dressed then went to the door and found it unlocked. 

He was halfway down the hall when he realized where he was. It was backstage at Irving Hall. 

Jack and Dublin suddenly appeared from around a corner, "Oh Spot dere you are, Marble said you'd be bach heah." 

"What's goin' on Jacky-boy?" 

"Jist come wit us." They led Spot down a hallway and through a door into the main hall. The room was packed with newsies. It wasn't nearly as many boys as there had been at the rally but they were still filling the hall. When Spot came in they all started cheering and singing an off key and disjointed version of happy birthday. Spot was laughing as they led him to a table in the front, to the left of the stage. 

Drinks and food were served but the curtains were still down on the stage. The boys didn't notice the light fading in the hall until it was almost too dark to see. Then music started. 

It was strange and haunting and seemed to come from everywhere at once. The curtains slid open slowly and when the whole stage was visible the music became more upbeat. The spotlight switched on and there was a person on the stage with her back to the crowd. It wasn't Medda, with her flaming red hair and showy dresses. Instead it was a slim, pale figure with brown curls cascading down her back. She wore a clingy black dress with a open back and slits up the side that went to mid-thigh. She started singing. 

"Something fearless in your eyes," She turned to face the newsies, showing a very low neckline. 

"Something careless about you smile," Marble quickly found Spot, he was staring with his mouth hanging open. 

"Something fragile when you hold your breath, and when you move," she waked to the right side of the stage and went down a flight of stairs, onto the floor. 

"You move right through me." 

The spotlight flooded the front of the hall as she moved past the gaping boys. Pie Eater put his hand over Snipeshooter's eyes. 

"Fingertips so gently on my skin," Marble's fingers traced all the way down the neckline of her dress. Snipe pulled the hand away. 

"I'm underwater, I feel the flood begin." She trailed her hand across Blink's cheek as she walked past and he almost fell out of his chair. 

"Fingertips so gently on my skin, you're taking over and over again." Mush put his hand over Snipeshooter's eyes but it was quickly pulled away. 

"Shed your armor," She flicked Jake's bowler off of his head but he didn't notice. 

"Spin your web," Itey was rocking back in his chair and fell. 

"Hypnotize me with the longest stare," Marble put out her hand and covered Snipeshooter's eyes as she strutted past. 

"Make your promise, or maybe it's a threat." Marble kicked Twitch's chair down onto all four legs before he ended up like Itey. 

"'cos when you look, you look right through me." Her eyes found the still gaping Spot and she had to fight a grin. 

"Fingertips so gently on my skin." This time Marble trailed her fingers up the slit in her skirt, hiking the dress up even farther. 

"I'm underwater, I feel the flood begin." Ash from Race's cigar fell and narrowly missed his lap. 

"Fingertips so gently on my skin," Marble winked at Frack and he choked on his drink. 

"You're taking over and over again." Marble reached out and tapped Skittery's chin, closing his mouth. 

"We're flesh and bone, together and alone." Marble made it to Spot's table and she smiled. 

"And we're looking for a home." She leaned over the table, giving everyone a good view down her dress. Her eyes met Jack's and she whispered, "Enjoying yourself Cowboy?" 

He nodded dumbly as she straightened up and moved around the table. 

"Silver moonlight invades the sky," She stopped behind Spot. 

"Calling gently to the evening tide," Marble wrapped her arms around him. 

"You're unfolding right before my eyes." She rested her cheek on his shoulder and looked into his eyes. 

"And when you move," She spun around his chair and sat in his lap. 

"You move right through me." Her fingers twined around behind his neck and she leaned back to see his face clearly. 

"Fingertips so gently on my skin." Her hands slid around his neck and down to rest on his chest. 

"I'm underwater, I feel the flood begin." Marble leaned forward so only Spot could hear her. 

"Fingertips so gently on my skin," Spot's arms slid around her and pulled her even closer. 

"I'm underwater, I'm underwater." Marble kissed him passionately. 

Long before the music stopped the room had erupted in cheers and catcalls. 

Marble finally pulled back and whispered, "Thank you for reminding me how to sing." 


End file.
